Soon, the world might become atheist...

[Banana Jelly]

From my personal experience, the more people exposed to science, and rational thought, the more people who actually question their religion. Majority of the world do not have science available, nor any technology. Majority of people grow up in families who have strict religious rules, and thus dont dare think of trying anything.

But from my experience (coming from a theist, and you guys can probably guess my religion from previous posts), being exposed to so much information. I think im slowly becoming a agnostic. However, I am fighting to try not to. Feels bad man.

Now what I want to discuss is, if more people were exposed to vast amount of information, will the rate of more people becoming agnostic/atheist be likely?

[removeduser_4536284751384]

Well more than 70% of the developed world are still religious.

Do you have and figures or statistics on how fast this number is declining?

[Manco]

Well more than 70% of the developed world are still religious.

Do you have and figures or statistics on how fast this number is declining?

Official stats on this are mostly bollocks regardless of what they show.
There's often a huge disparity between church attendance and religious affiliation. You have people who answer Christian on a census while they don't believe in a god because they can't fathom that a census isn't asking about their cultural background but actual belief. (I was actually part of a poll researching this, never facepalmed that much. They literally often called themselves atheist and Christian on the same page)
Some countries also have rather strict rules about asking for religious and ethnic data.

[Banana Jelly]

Well, I did say from my personal experience, however, I will try to post some.

Most of the underdeveloped countries such as India, Africa, Bangladesh, or most asian countries are religious. They either believe in native cults, christianity, islam, hinduism and etc. About more then 90% of the population.

However, if you look at more developed countries such as USA, you could see a non-religious boom in the population. I've been looking around and I found this:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...2FNONES_08.pdf

I rather not copy+paste, and you should just go and see the research report.

As more of the first world and developed are turning non-religious, soon the world might become irreligious.

Another fact is that judging from 200 years back. The world was about 90+% or so religious. However now, its about 70+%. Soon the number might change as more technology develops rapidly.

[Denny Crane!]

In the past 129 years, since Friedrich Nietzsche, the center of the community in many countries has shifted from being a church, mosque, temple etc. to more public buildings and settings found at schools and jobs. Others claim that social network sites have added to the rapid decline in religious affiliation. They believe that these lead to an increasing number of connections between people who would not necessarily interact before and that connections to those who are unaffiliated with religion is enough to prompt the change.

Religion may be allowed to thrive in countries that acknowledge their citizens right to religious freedom, but this allowance does not necessarily correlate with the actual thriving of religion.

http://www.thea-blast.org/in-depth/2...ing-worldwide/

Countries that have strong religious faith like Saudi Arabia or even poor catholic countries don't allow people not to be religious and this can be enforced on a familial level through peer pressure. The internet, information and more is changing this.

I'm not so convinced that the world is becoming Atheist but I am convinced that religion is coming to matter to people less even if they are still affiliated.

[Jack04]

People certainly seem to be becoming more liberal in their religious views (though there are still plenty of nutters as well). Whether that corresponds to a trend towards atheism or not, I don't know.

[Khassaki]

Countries that have strong religious faith like Saudi Arabia or even poor catholic countries don't allow people not to be religious and this can be enforced on a familial level through peer pressure. The internet, information and more is changing this.

Not just those countries. Kate Middleton had to become some sort of protestant to marry into the Brit royal family, and it would be pretty hard to get elected to a public office in the US as an atheist.

I'm not so convinced that the world is becoming Atheist but I am convinced that religion is coming to matter to people less even if they are still affiliated.

Mostly this I think. Most kids are subjected to religious dogma when growing up, so it is usually a matter of overthrowing that and resisting family pressure to become openly atheist. In Victoria Australia, we have a debate where the government is imposing religious education in state run schools due to the working of some legislation, while the schools and parents are trying to resist this saying that it should be a personal choice.

[Ancient Aliens]

it would be pretty hard to get elected to a public office in the US as an atheist.

That is a very good point Khassaki. In the United States, a politician explicitly saying that they are an atheist would be unacceptable, even though many politicians do not attend church and/or are obviously atheists. That being said, American politicians are notoriously shifty, and would attend church to gain a single vote, even if such an action may be contrary to their core values and beliefs.

[Khassaki]

That being said, American politicians are notoriously shifty, and would attend church to gain a single vote, even if such an action may be contrary to their core values and beliefs.

Gee, a politician lie and misrepresent something for personal gain? Nah, that would never happen

[Trax]

You have people who answer Christian on a census while they don't believe in a god because they can't fathom that a census isn't asking about their cultural background but actual belief. (I was actually part of a poll researching this, never facepalmed that much. They literally often called themselves atheist and Christian on the same page)

Culture IS important, I have no problem calling myself "cultural christian" like Dawkins does.

When census comes I'll still answer atheist though.

[Vir Triumphalis]

Culture IS important, I have no problem calling myself "cultural christian" like Dawkins does.

When census comes I'll still answer atheist though.

This.

The religious are becoming more liberal(my mother). Their descendants would even be more liberal(my siblings), then after that, an atheist(me) world.

[SigniferOne]

"With a little bit of thinking a person becomes atheist, and with a little bit more he becomes religious."
-Francis Bacon

[kentuckybandit]

I think it is sad that rational thought and reason cause people to let go of their beliefs. Perhaps they were not very secure in the beliefs or misunderstood them to begin with? Simply because someone believes in a religion does not make them a close minded nutcase, curled up in the corner covering their ears. Many will do the "if you believe in rational thought then you don't really believe in your religion" but the irony here is that I am often being told what I am supposed to believe by those who do not even practice my religion and often times are rather militantly trying to dissuade me from it.

I will always find someone who has left their religion as a sad or perhaps tragic case, but in all honesty if one is forced into their religion or lied into it, perhaps they are better off finding their own way in the world. Obviously "finding their own way" could mean becoming atheist, or finding their way back to their religion but on correct pretenses.

[Banana Jelly]

I think it is sad that rational thought and reason cause people to let go of their beliefs. Perhaps they were not very secure in the beliefs or misunderstood them to begin with? Simply because someone believes in a religion does not make them a close minded nutcase, curled up in the corner covering their ears. Many will do the "if you believe in rational thought then you don't really believe in your religion" but the irony here is that I am often being told what I am supposed to believe by those who do not even practice my religion and often times are rather militantly trying to dissuade me from it.

I will always find someone who has left their religion as a sad or perhaps tragic case, but in all honesty if one is forced into their religion or lied into it, perhaps they are better off finding their own way in the world. Obviously "finding their own way" could mean becoming atheist, or finding their way back to their religion but on correct pretenses.

If you knew me and my posts from about a year ago, I used to debate quite alot here defending my religion. So I believe I knew quite a lot about my religion, so it couldn't be that I was mis-informed about my religion. I just had a struggle within me and just questioned myself rationally about life. I am still a theist (as I said in my OP), however I just am questioning myself more, and thinking a whole lot more. I am not a atheist or agnostic. I am still a theist.

[kentuckybandit]

If you knew me and my posts from about a year ago, I used to debate quite alot here defending my religion. So I believe I knew quite a lot about my religion, so it couldn't be that I was mis-informed about my religion. I just had a struggle within me and just questioned myself rationally about life. I am still a theist (as I said in my OP), however I just am questioning myself more, and thinking a whole lot more. I am not a atheist or agnostic. I am still a theist.

That was not directed at you, by the way (sorry if it sounded so). If you are well informed and still came to your conclusions then that is great, people should form their own ideas and not follow anything blindly. I was just commenting on many of the athiests I have known (and 'rival' theists of other religions/denominations) tend to focus most of their attacks on things that aren't even a part of my faith. I post in the EMM rarely because arguing or debating faith rarely turns out well, and I never feel good about it. I lack the outward, evangelical zeal of some lol

The future of science and our society is very exciting and where it will lead is time can only tell.

[The Dude]

"With a little bit of thinking a person becomes atheist, and with a little bit more he becomes religious."
-Francis Bacon

And with even more he becomes atheist once again.

It's such a stupid quote. I also like how Bacon just skips theism and goes straight to religion. Sure, why not! With a little bit of thinking you challenge the notion of a creator, with a little bit more thinking you decide to participate in a whole bunch of rituals that some guy tells you to do. That's essentially what he's saying.

[Banana Jelly]

And with even more he becomes atheist once again.

It's such a stupid quote. I also like how Bacon just skips theism and goes straight to religion. Sure, why not! With a little bit of thinking you challenge the notion of a creator, with a little bit more thinking you decide to participate in a whole bunch of rituals that some guy tells you to do. That's essentially what he's saying.

Huh? Is that supposed to be negative or positive for me?


Edit: Wait nevermind, my last username had Bacon (Pig Is Bacon, if anyone remembers) in it, so I thought you was talking to me. Now I know who you were directing it to.

[Dominicvs]

"With a little bit of thinking a person becomes atheist, and with a little bit more he becomes religious."
-Francis Bacon

An excellent quote.

Because, if the average intellectual is atheist, they came to that through logic, and logic alone. But when you think even harder you realise there really is much much more to life than logical thinking and only believing in the obvious. Life as an atheist is meaningless, since the universe has no purpose to them. As a theist, it has reason, meaning, which are so much more important than logic alone.

Sure, you will have stupid people following religion brainlessly
Then you atheists who follow atheism for the hatred of theism.
Then you atheists who truly believe simple logic is the reasoning
Then you have theists, who realise total reason doesn't exist through atheism, and there must be a reason, or the universe was really an accident.

You may reply to this thread, and say I'm full of it, and have no idea what I'm on about, and you may have convinced yourself, but think about it one more time. If there is nothing beyond our physical lives in this universe, then your logic becomes illogical and is without reason. For there is no chance we can be in this universe without a reason.

[Sphere]

Bacon was also writing in the 16th century, before the discovery of evolution, modern astronomy, modern physics, modern medicine etc.

I think the deist and possibly even a theist belief at that time would be perfectly reasonable; there was so much we didn't understand in the working of the world around us that there was a plausible case to be made that a divinity was required to make it all happen. But after 400 years of a quite amazing expansion of our knowlege of our world and the universe as a whole, a theist position is almost indefensible, and deist one takes quite a stretch.

If this is a place created by an omnipotent being who intervenes now and again, we would have discovered very different things in that 400 year span. That's not to say that in the next 400 years we might not develop a list of things that do not make sense without a God.

But with our current level of understanding, it is more than fair to say that whether or not a God exists, our universe is indistinguishable from a universe in which no God is present.

[SigniferOne]

Bacon was also writing in the 16th century, before the discovery of evolution, modern astronomy, modern physics, modern medicine etc.

As if medicine or "modern physics" has relevance to whether there's a God or not, and in fact modern physics supports the theological proposition much more than earlier did. And since Copernicus wrote his things by the early 1500s, by Bacon's time it was long established amongst all except the Roman Catholic Church. And since Bacon was an Anglican, it didn't really matter to him what the Catholics thought. THat's why he was the inventor of the scientific method and you might do well to look into the facts of both him and his views more without dismissing him so offhandely.

whether or not a God exists, our universe is indistinguishable from a universe in which no God is present.

Without God, our universe would be unsustainable and impossible.