After Christianity: what will be the next big "Religion"?

[Eregion2]

This requires a quick explanation; throughout human history, we can see that various religions become prominent and then dwindle over time. This is usually because religion was often restricted to a specific culture, and when that culture crumbled (or otherwise evolved) the religion went right with it. This view is reinforced by the fact that the major religions in practice today are primarily those which are adaptable to multicultural environments (easily exported and shared, as it were).

 

 

 

In ancient times, conquering nations would actually go out of their way to obliterate other religions because of the cultural threat they posed. I think this would be a very interesting discussion as long as we can keep it flame free (beware thee vile trolls! *brandishes a flamethrower*). It will also be very Euro/Ameri-centric, not that Christianity is only practiced in "Western" nations, but because that is the culture which which the majority of us can relate to, so that's probably how this thread will unfold.

 

 

 

So, what do you think will happen when Christianity and the other major "world religions" eventually fall into cultural disfavor, or do you think they never will? Christianity I know has developed impressive means of adapting over time to comply with the hegemonic culture, and I imagine Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are similarly endowed. This doesn't happen in a vacuum, though. There are countless Christian sects/denominations which have unfolded over time to accommodate different world views.

 

 

 

It's possible that the most prevalent religions today are being protected by dominant world cultures; an argument could be made that the prevalent culture in America can be traced to roots in the Roman Empire, which could hypothetically have given Christianity a fertile petri dish for the past two thousand years (especially since it was a clash of Roman and Israeli cultures which gave rise to Christianity in the first place).

 

 

 

However, even if the culture can be traced, it's still in evolution, which still brings us back to the same place. For the purpose of this thread, you can treat Atheism in the same respect as a religion. Will religion die, bringing Atheism to the forefront, or perhaps an even more extreme form of religious nihilism? What about multicultural influences between "East" and "West" as well as "First World" compared to "Third World"?

 

 

 

Finally, will the next big religion be truly global in ideology instead of being exported by a single cultural norm, or will each culture continue to expound and expand on ideals which are specific to itself? If you believe the religions which are dominant today are likely to stay that way forever, how do you think they'll be influenced by and interact with the evolution of world culture? Thoughts?

 

 

 

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I deserve a cookie. I didn't make a single reference to manga anywhere in this post! Oh snap...[/hide]

[pureprayer]

Christianity will not die off as easy as people think 1.8 billion people believe in it.

 

 

 

The next big one is Atheism

[folmer_veeman]

I think they never will leave, but that atheism will grow until the (civilized) world is like either 80% atheist and the rest would be spread as now. Or atheism will be like 95% and all other religions form small groups but nothing official anymore.

[redhaloguy]

No religion or Atheist. People are bound to be smart sometime?

[Quoi_Tu]

People will always idolize and worship. People will always wonder and theorize over the unknown. As long as there is mystery, there will be religion.

 

 

 

No religion or Atheist. People are bound to be smart sometime?

 

I know particulary dumb atheists. I guess if they believed in a god, they would be smarter.

 

 

 

Even if you're just joking, you should remember that just because someone's religious doesn't mean they're dumb.

[RussianFed55]

Europe will have succumbed to Radical Islamic caliphates far before Christianity dies off in America. And that's about 2030 to give you a date. It will be France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, and Belgium. The UK will go a few years later.

[Quoi_Tu]

Europe will have succumbed to Radical Islamic caliphates far before Christianity dies off in America. And that's about 2030 to give you a date.

 

 

 

The same Europe that's drifiting from religion and building old churches into bars?

[redhaloguy]

 

No religion or Atheist. People are bound to be smart sometime?

 

I know particulary dumb atheists. I guess if they believed in a god, they would be smarter.

 

 

 

Even if you're just joking, you should remember that just because someone's religious doesn't mean they're dumb.

 

 

 

I know that. Just most religions that are popular have started wars or have enemies or start parades about something. Atheist or No religion haven't done any (From what I know of).

[Sam]

Christianity will always be around; people will always idolize and worship, it's a livelihood for some aswell.

[warren211]

I can only wonder what it would take to destroy a religion with over a billion followers. Most religions that die are because the ruler or nation of origin go corrupt, and since christianity has had many popes and survived an entire schism, it'll take more than a war or corrupt pope to crush all of Christianity. Especially considering that a lot of Christians are minor sects that will come and go, and only Catholicism follows the pope. If I'm not mistaken, there are no official leaders of Protestants and Orthodox faiths besides local priests and ministers, so corruption can't destroy the entire religion. Even if the leaders of every Christian sect and division all die, all the 1+ billion people aren't just gonna give up their faiths or convert to another one, are they? You'd have to have several hundred years of nonstop corruption for everyone to just give up and/or die.

[RussianFed55]

The same Europe that's drifiting from religion and building old churches into bars?

 

 

 

There's a HUGE difference between secularising European natives, and large bubbles of uncontrolled Islam.

[fastortoise]

With all this modern technology, we're all intertwined. More importantly, anyone can have sex with anybody else around the globe. This is an example of Gene Flow, where one day, our species will all have the same skin colour, for example. Of course there will be the "Pure Bloods (ex from harry potter -.- )" from each "race", but that's negligible since this Gene Flow takes place over thousands of years. Basically, variety will be minimal over the entire community.

 

 

 

Anyways, once we all look the same and stuff, someone's gonna make a choice on which religion is best, and everyone on the planet is going to follow it since the variety won't be existent anymore. What that religion will be I have no idea, but I doubt it will be Atheism.

[Quoi_Tu]

 

No religion or Atheist. People are bound to be smart sometime?

 

I know particulary dumb atheists. I guess if they believed in a god, they would be smarter.

 

 

 

Even if you're just joking, you should remember that just because someone's religious doesn't mean they're dumb.

 

 

 

I know that. Just most religions that are popular have started wars or have enemies or start parades about something. Atheist or No religion haven't done any (From what I know of).

 

People start wars, not religions (well, most anyways). Since atheism is not a religion nor really a belief system (some atheists believe in the afterlife), using it to classify people is like using theism to classify people. It's too broad.

 

 

 

What's wrong with parades?

 

 

 

The same Europe that's drifiting from religion and building old churches into bars?

 

 

 

There's a HUGE difference between secularising European natives, and large bubbles of uncontrolled Islam.

 

 

 

Then I'm to assume that the large bubbles of uncontrolled Islam are going to convert the secularising European natives? For a religion based government to work, it's best if the majority of the population is the ruling religion. That's my point.

[RussianFed55]

Even if Christianity died, it would be Radical (make the distinction between Moderate) Islam that would take a foothold, especially if Atheism ran amuck. Atheist's have already proved their ease of succumbing to Radical Islam through such policies currently in Europe.

 

 

 

And yes. As the native population of Europe declines and more and more "Progressives" (and I could name many names) take control of the states and media, Radical Islam will take-over with incredible ease. It's called Appeasement, Political Correctness, Establishment Politics.

[Quoi_Tu]

Even if Christianity died, it would be Radical (make the distinction between Moderate) Islam that would take a foothold, especially if Atheism ran amuck. Atheist's have already proved their ease of succumbing to Radical Islam through such policies currently in Europe.

 

How so?

 

 

 

Edit in:

 

And yes. As the native population of Europe declines and more and more "Progressives" (and I could name many names) take control of the states and media, Radical Islam will take-over with incredible ease. It's called Appeasement, Political Correctness, Establishment Politics.

 

 

 

Assuming the European population begins dying off. And political correctness gives Radical Islam a greater influence? The same hateful, narrow-minded Radical Islam that has terrorists stationed throughout Europe (notably in Germany)?

[Eregion2]

 

No religion or Atheist. People are bound to be smart sometime?

 

I know particulary dumb atheists. I guess if they believed in a god, they would be smarter.

 

 

 

Even if you're just joking, you should remember that just because someone's religious doesn't mean they're dumb.

 

 

 

I know that. Just most religions that are popular have started wars or have enemies or start parades about something. Atheist or No religion haven't done any (From what I know of).

Your point of view would require the religion itself to be to blame for the conflict, instead of it being 1) another excuse for humans to beat the hell out of each other, or 2) a conflict between two cultures, both of which have countering prevalent religious beliefs. Either way, the conflict would have a cultural or economic basis; you can just as easily claim to kill a person over their religion as over their ethnicity, so claiming that Atheists or anyone else who doesn't believe in a specific religion has never started a conflict would be kind of absurd. ;) I think it would relate more to the hegemonic culture than theistic belief.

 

I can only wonder what it would take to destroy a religion with over a billion followers. Most religions that die are because the ruler or nation of origin go corrupt, and since christianity has had many popes and survived an entire schism, it'll take more than a war or corrupt pope to crush all of Christianity. Especially considering that a lot of Christians are minor sects that will come and go, and only Catholicism follows the pope. If I'm not mistaken, there are no official leaders of Protestants and Orthodox faiths besides local priests and ministers, so corruption can't destroy the entire religion. Even if the leaders of every Christian sect and division all die, all the 1+ billion people aren't just gonna give up their faiths or convert to another one, are they? You'd have to have several hundred years of nonstop corruption for everyone to just give up and/or die.

It definitely wouldn't happen in a single generation. More of an evolution over a few hundred or thousand years. It could even share the same name, but as the culture changes I bet the ideals inherent in the belief will change. I just wonder what these future beliefs will idealize. :thumbup: Islam is definitely spreading into Europe very strongly though; it'll be interesting to see how that progresses.

[RussianFed55]

Even if Christianity died, it would be Radical (make the distinction between Moderate) Islam that would take a foothold, especially if Atheism ran amuck. Atheist's have already proved their ease of succumbing to Radical Islam through such policies currently in Europe.

 

How so?

 

 

 

I listed for you already loads of proof to which you never replied.

 

 

 

In Western Europe, the idea of the Establishment and the Media is to appease the poor Muslims from the third-word nations, but NEVER let them become a Nordman or a Dutchmen or a Swede (except in rare cases). Don't give them opportunities to good jobs, and make sure all opposition to them is eliminated. So the Radicals can make plans in their mosques, they can stone firefighters fighting a fire at a mosque. They despise Western Culture, they live here because we let them but their host countries are nothing but host countries to them, and they will take over the Pacifist Left governments. The Radicals will do this by 2030, as indicated by Muslim Youth in Stockholm on T-Shirts, "2030: Then we take over."

[Eregion2]

Even so though, Muslims will be influenced by the culture of their "host" countries, or at least an evolution of thought by both groups will be mutual, taking everyone somewhere no one could probably anticipate. Right now in Europe, Islam is extreme and radical, and is drawing attention to itself. The question is whether Europe will be radicalized, or if Islam will become more amiable. Then again, the whole pot might explode in our faces and it'll be time for WWIII. :?

 

 

 

What's significant about 2030, or did they just arbitrarily pick a date?

[RussianFed55]

Even so though, Muslims will be influenced by the culture of their "host" countries, or at least an evolution of thought by both groups will be mutual, taking everyone somewhere no one could probably anticipate. Right now in Europe, Islam is extreme and radical, and is drawing attention to itself. The question is whether Europe will be radicalized, or if Islam will become more amiable. Then again, the whole pot might explode in our faces and it'll be time for WWIII. :?

 

 

 

What's significant about 2030, or did they just arbitrarily pick a date?

 

 

 

They may have. I took the date from Bat Ye'or's book, Eurabia.

 

 

 

Regardless, Europe already fought off Islam in the Siege of Vienna, but now it's inside their borders, in their neighbourhoods, the Radical kind in particular, and that is not good obviously. A recent poll found 40% of British Muslims in favour of Sharia Law and Sharia Courts.

 

 

 

You live in the UK, you follow British law and none other. Am I the only one who finds this idea a good one?

[Quoi_Tu]

Even if Christianity died, it would be Radical (make the distinction between Moderate) Islam that would take a foothold, especially if Atheism ran amuck. Atheist's have already proved their ease of succumbing to Radical Islam through such policies currently in Europe.

 

How so?

 

 

 

I listed for you already loads of proof to which you never replied, although I did edit it in after you replied to me, so I guess I shouldn't point that out. Sorry for bringing up an irrelevant point that has nothing to do with the argument.

 

 

 

In Western Europe, the idea of the Establishment and the Media is to appease the poor Muslims from the third-word nations, but NEVER let them become a Nordman or a Dutchmen or a Swede (except in rare cases). Don't give them opportunities to good jobs, and make sure all opposition to them is eliminated. So the Radicals can make plans in their mosques, they can stone firefighters fighting a fire at a mosque. They despise Western Culture, they live here because we let them but their host countries are nothing but host countries to them, and they will take over the Pacifist Left governments. The Radicals will do this by 2030, as indicated by Muslim Youth in Stockholm on T-Shirts, "2030: Then we take over."

 

 

 

What you're suggesting is that the European governments will see increasing militant radical Islamists growing in their contries and do nothing about it. I remember reading reports of increased German anti-terrorist activity just last year against the exact group you fear will take over. Also, radical Islamists make up a very small minority of all Islamists. By starting simple campaigns against the violent tactics of Islamist terrorists, the problem can be resolved.

[dragoonson]

I'd say Islam would be big.Not that I ignored the posts above me,because I know some of their beliefs,and stuff.

 

 

 

Your parents are Muslim=You're Muslim

 

You marry a Muslim girl=You're Muslim

 

You're Muslim=You're Muslim for life

 

 

 

This would mean that continuously there will be a lot of new Muslims going in,and very few subsequently coming out.

 

 

 

I dunno about Judaism being 1% though,(Its Jewish people's religion,right?) I hear if you're mom is Jew,you Jew.

 

 

 

Having said that,its time for my non-serious half.Xebethcthulu,my first born daughter will lead the world in cultism,or Damien,my first born son returns us all to Paganism.Which wouldn't be that bad,really.

[RussianFed55]

By starting simple campaigns against the violent tactics of Islamist terrorists, the problem can be resolved.

 

 

 

And who's going do that? The European Governments who beat around the issue ignoring it? I gave you a link to a report on Anti-Semitism in Europe, a report so horrible the EU forbade its release until it was leaked. As the report proves, this isn't one or two people, it's an entire generation of people who couldn't careless what their host governments have to say or do.

[BlueLancer]

 

I dunno about Judaism being 1% though,(Its Jewish people's religion,right?) I hear if you're mom is Jew,you Jew.

 

 

 

The world has about 15 million jews out of a total world population of 6.5 billion people. It's near 0,20%

[Quoi_Tu]

By starting simple campaigns against the violent tactics of Islamist terrorists, the problem can be resolved.

 

 

 

And who's going do that? The European Governments who beat around the issue ignoring it? I gave you a link to a report on Anti-Semitism in Europe, a report so horrible the EU forbade its release until it was leaked. As the report proves, this isn't one or two people, it's an entire generation of people who couldn't careless what their host governments have to say or do.

 

 

 

I don't see how the report suggests that last bolded sentence. And the good news is that the EU publishes things like this now. Their already on a path to addressing the issue.

 

 

 

 

 

Unrelated to the above, but on-topic: Bad Times Draw Bigger Crowds to Churches. I think the article can provide some insight to what drives people towards religion: hard times. When things go bad, people want to know there is something else out there or some force that will help them through the troubled times. You can also see this in older people who face their soon to be death and what to know that there is more to life or something after.

[Eregion2]

I dunno about Judaism being 1% though,(Its Jewish people's religion,right?) I hear if you're mom is Jew,you Jew.

Not really, I know several Jews who aren't Jewish. It's seriously confusing when a religion and an ethnicity share the same name. : So while only 0.23% of the world population is ethnically Jewish, it's possible that 1% of the world population does practice Judaism. I can't actually vouch for the reliability of that graph though, it could easily be incorrect, or maybe rounded up to the nearest 1%.