Trends in Religion - Society Forum

Novice Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 6

Does anyone notice the change in trends over religion and society? I think that religion is become less and less important to people, and personal faith is taking the forefront. It seems that there is already new religion that more and more people are following, nothing established, but more relevant to our times, incorporating technology and modern issues to form a belief system to which they can comply at a personal level rather than community level. Question

Rising Star Joined: Dec 24, 2004 Posts: 24

I definitely agree that the trend of religion is switching towards being more philosophical rather than the ritual side of religion. People are beginning to question the basis of the established faiths. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 have intensified the breach. Definitely a divide is brewing with people going more towards their respective religion and others moving away. However, I believe that this breach is stirring the sleeping minds, and that the people who did not believe in religion altogether, or those who were linked to a religion but unaware of it all the same, are going to pay more attention to their religions. Thus bring about a religious revolution that is going to take the world into its grasp. Exclamation

Apprentice Joined: Dec 27, 2004 Posts: 12

As time marches on, a stronger definition of where our religions came from is depicted from the number of theologians that attempt to reverse engineer what we have to get back to the roots of it all.

The number of theologians grows with each year for a mixture of better eductation from technology and society advances and from the fact that the human populous numbers are also increasing.

[Theologians of centuries ago would have been particular people of social heirarchy due to education being only available to high classes, as apposed to the modern day in which no matter how you grow up or where you live, in the free world you can seek an education and it's even seen a Human Right.]

Some will stick by religion through thick and thin, but this is because what are you left with if you remove hope and/or belief? However this can actually be attributed to a human psychological state enduced by our need to have something to be addicted to. (I would write the whole reasoning, but thats a paper within itself)

It's noted that modern society is far less religious than it once was just through identifying the numbers of church goers in relationship to the past.
(In the US however there are alot of Adverts, Channels, Charities devoted to the "selling of religion" therefore their system doesn't necessary depict an accurate model worldwide.)

Rising Star Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 15

There are many who say that religion is being pushed into the background because of the technological and scientific advancements. Things are being rationalized, one example would be the disastrous tsunami that recently struck South Asian islands. People no longer come up with it’s a punishment from God, and rather, they turn to the experts to find out the geological reasons behind the formation of the tsunami.

Novice Joined: Dec 22, 2004 Posts: 6

As you have pointed out, people have started to rationalize rather than be superstitious; therefore, there is the decline in religious trends. However, I would like to point out that the true religion would be the one that IS based in the truth. If a religion can not justify what are; the laws of the Universe then it is a man made religion.
My point is that all religions are not man made ones. There has to be one that is form God. May be there are others which were with time, because of ulterior motives of some, was modified from what God had made them (the reason for their being unable to cope with rationality). Otherwise, The True Religion is the one that RATIONALLY proves the exsistance of God.

Apprentice Joined: Jan 03, 2005 Posts: 10

I think it is high time that people grow out of religion on the whole. There has been all this talk of religion being used for the purpose of controlling peoples Twisted Evil

in the past. Well I think, in this day and age, people have begun to realize that they are being used by the religious bigots, rather shamelessly, and they have stopped putting up with it. What do you think?

Apprentice Joined: Dec 24, 2004 Posts: 14

While don’t disagree to your saying that people are being shamelessly used in the name of religion, I do think that labeling all religion as useless is just as big a mistake as playing into the hands of the RELIGIOUS BIGOTS, as you call them.

New User Joined: Mar 01, 2005 Posts: 2

Some people consider religion to be the earliest form of science.
It makes sense too, religion provided [rational??] explanations
for their times. It comforted people, providing them with a tool
to comprehend a complex and beguiling world.
Even to appease the powers that be.
Some which were so overpowering that they continue to linger
[linger is too feeble a word] to this very day and age.
Religion's entire system of belief lies on faith in a higher power.
Of course people with deep religious faith will oppose progress.
It's unnerving for them to see humans [mere mortals] dabble in God's work

What we forget is that God itself just might be a construct of mankind.

Religion or atleast the keepers of faith are struggling to keep the masses
from straying. All while stirring up internal rivalries and emphasizing the
truth behind one's own religion and belittling others.
Religion is becoming more exclusionary.

Rising Star Joined: Dec 24, 2004 Posts: 24

You certainly have a right to your opinion, but how can you prove there isn't a GOD at all? What religions like Islam and Christianity preach is the presence of a GOD that shows himself in his miracles. Read up the Islamic Holy book Quran and you will find innumerable incidents where todays world will be predicted. Do you have a logical reply to those? how could a human being of that era 1400 years back predict about todays planes and nations and the Hoover Dam!!!

Its all in the thinking mate. If you decide to close your mind to the facts then nothing in the world can open it for you. The opening chapter of Quran states that
'there are those who do not pay attention to God's warnings. their ears and eyes and hearts have been sealed off because of their ignorance. they will never learn.' (Surat al Bakara)

So its not about questioning its about proving.

New User Joined: Nov 08, 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Europe

About religious decline, I must agree about people being getting away from mainstream religions and going more spiritual. Main religions are proved to be a continuous cause of conflict and, as defenders of tradicional ways of life and behaviour, they are opposed to social change. This two factors will make more and more people to move away from their original faiths.
But, from a social perspective, religion represents not only a belief in a methaphysical universe, but the ensemble of core, shared values. The more people dismiss their religion, the less shared values will remain. Religion acts in fact as a social cement --even if I don't like this idea--. Every society needs a minimal, common set of shared values or it will decompose. But, with this new situation the creation of values lays on every individual, so we could face a future without a common set of values.
The problem is: What could be the mean for sharing values if most people get away from religion? Is there a way for an entire society to share a secular religion? Law and politics doesn't seem to work as such.
And a dangerous question: Who would create and manage this secular values?
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