This thread is open to theists as well as atheists and every other -ist.

In the rich countries, the Christian Churches are losing members at record speed. And lots of people who do stay members don't really believe anymore; they just want to avoid conflicts with their family or have some other lazy reason to stay. Obviously their children are even more likely to become atheists.

Other religions don't fare any better in rich countries.

At the same time, the marvels of the world can now almost all be explained by Science, making the good old "God did it" explanation unnecessary.

I am pretty sure that by the end of this century, religion will be all but extinct.

Do you agree or not? Will Religion survive the 21st century? And why (not) ?

While the Christian Church is wilting, people need something to believe in. You will get more Islam/Buddism/New Age spiritualist etc etc etc conversions. If you convince everyone Jesus isn't the answer, then they cling on to the next big thing.

But besides all that, atheist societies have low birth rates and they get replaced by religious ones. Besides the gays not reproducing, the partying/career crew not reproducing, you also have the issue of marriage for life no longer being trendy.

For a start, men are afraid of getting a woman pregnant because they just expect to be taken for a ride half the time and have to pay out half their wages to a woman who hates them for the next 18 years. Also a mother who finds a new man who is agreeable to children and doesn't have more children with him stops him from having kids with someone else.

In other words religion will rule again in the West, but it perhaps won't be Christianity. Islam is the likely contender, but if that's not it, something else will become widely established. I have heard half the world's population are projected to be Muslim by 2100. They are up to 25% already and rapidly increasing %. A religion that doesn't contradict science and promises an afterlife and a reason for everything is better than just science for most.

Despite Dawkins arguing religion is harmful from a natural selection point of view, atheism is a complete evolutionary dead end due to birth rates of atheists compared to theists.

Will the 21st century survive religion?

This is actually a lot more acurate.

It might not survive the week if the neocons have their way. Blow up the Russians in Iran by Friday or we is all doomed.

It already has. I am just dropping in from the 22nd century to answer the query.

Those rich countries are also losing native population at record speed. That is where you should look for what might not survive the 21st century.

The famous materialism of the gaps fallacy. The quantity of phenomena we count as unexplained has, if anything, increased on account of the systematic observational approach we now use in drawing conclusions about the natural world.

In pre-scientific times, assigning something to the "we just don't know" category was rare. While despite the availability of the "God did it" hypothesis, this was used to account for only a minority of phenomena. Much of the remainder was dealt with using just the sort of handwavy nonsense as the "we pretty much have the universe figured out" charlatan's magic show.

Excellent question, only it does not belong in this thread.

of course.

as long as the human race is around, there will always be unanswered questions in which "i dont know" and "god did it" are acceptable answers, and unless you can invent a time machine, there will always be Christians regardless of any evidence you can provide.

Radical statements need sources.

I think we'll burn ourselves out of existence before religion burns out.

Nuclear forest fires:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/08...s-not-a-drill/

Nice irony. I see what you did there.

For as long as we don't have all of the answers, there will be religion.

LOL classic splendour. what would RGT be without you.

If it's survived the previous centuries, I see no reason why it shouldn't survive this one.

We can only hope...but oops...hope is a Christian virtue...

What? I don't think you can really be saying what it sounds like you're saying.

Well you haven't stated your projection. Am I a mind reader?

Non-religious wars have cause WAY more damage and carnage then religious wars have. If I remember correctly the death toll from religious wars is something like 6-7%, and if you take out Islam then it drops to like 3-4%.

So the question should really be, if religion fades away, will society last?

Once again, what? What does my projection have to do with my objection to that post of yours?

Religion (or Christianity) wont go away but I think more and more people will become atheists. The reason it wont go away is because it doesn't have falsifiability, ie there is no event that could happen that could prove a christian wrong. Every verse or prophecy in the bible can be twisted to mean whatever the christian wants it to mean, taken literally or not literally.

The earth wasnt created in 6 days? Well that verse must be non-literal

You prayed for something and it happened? That is god at work. You prayed for something and it didnt happen? Still god at work etc etc

No you don't. I tried to google the gap thingy you talked about, to no avail. Stop making stuff up.

My bad, I did not make myself clear. I really meant "survive on a global scale".
For example, if there still is a Pope in 2100 and he has 1 million Catholics behind him, I would not count that as "survive".

1. Source?
2. Whats your point? Religious wars are good because they have lower causality?
3. What % of wars are fought over religion?

Oh i see you are asking if the number of religious people is going to continue to drop to become a minority by the year 2100? Science will keep explaining more and more.