Thread: Science says: Religion will be here forever!

There was a view expressed recently on this forum that religion was dying out, and atheism was preparing to rule the day (from Seisomosaur, I believe) and I remembered this article.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...342421,00.html

Well, it more or less says that humans are genetically pre-disposed to have religious or supernatural tendencies, as these behaviours promote natural selection. So I don't think religion will be dying out any time soon, unless atheism can annoy and bore genes as well as my ears! (A joke ) Hallelujah!
So what do you guys and gals think?


PS: I do not think that all the theists going quiet will help reduce, in the long-term, the malicious atheism which is cited as having occured in this forum. As was the debate on another thread.

Maybe religions will die out and some type of Deism will remain in it's place.

That would be best.

I hope that eventually we will evolve from our very subtle differences in religious views leaving only theists, agnostics, and athiests in the simplist forms.

Thats if the world doesn't end very soon, like many of the theists predict!

Also, a bit off topic but I want place a bet with some atheists, about the afterlife:
I'll bet any atheist a banana that the afterlife exists, and we can pay eachother then, or not! Sound good to you.

Yeah, except humans won't be around forever.

Originally Posted by Mark75

Yeah, except humans won't be around forever.

That's true. Religion will end. We win!

I'm onto you Mark75! No clones!

I can't help it. Sometimes I just divide and a whole new Mark forms.

Originally Posted by psychology student

I'll bet any atheist a banana that the afterlife exists, and we can pay eachother then, or not! Sound good to you.

justification and evidence now.

Originally Posted by psychology student

Well, it more or less says that humans are genetically pre-disposed to have religious or supernatural tendencies, as these behaviours promote natural selection.

People have lots of genetically predisposed behaviors that we are able to overcome. So there is hope.

Like thumbsucking.

We need to get a religious thumb brace so every time somebody starts to preach or be religious they'll get shocked!

I really think that religion of some form or another will be around right until the planet goes cold.

The best I can hope for at this point is for people to remove religion from politics and shut up about crazy things that the bible says about the evils of being gay and all of that fun stuff.

But I think that something new will take the place of (for example) Christianity one day and that Christianity will be taught in schools as some fun class like Greek mythology is today. Okay I've said this exact same thing elsewhere, uhhh, must not repeat self.

What a POS argument.
The human brain (especially the male) is also inclined towards physical agression and violence. So this means we should just give up doing something about it all together.
Oh yeah, and religion has always been part of our culture, much like racism, slavery and witchcraft, so those are also perfectly fine.

And my brain is also inclined towards behaving in anti-social ways. DON'T BLAME ME, IT'S JUST MY BRAIN. I am naturally inclined to do this. I am the mere result of evolution and I can't ever take any responsibility.

Funny how usually they say "religion gives a good alternative to the deterministic world view of science", but when it comes to finding arguments, it is perfectly fine to go with the flow and say "well, this is just determined by evolution and my brain, I can't help it."

Originally Posted by psychology student

Well, it more or less says that humans are genetically pre-disposed to have religious or supernatural tendencies, as these behaviours promote natural selection.

Lol right, because superstition (jumping to conclusions...like for example...always believing a stick is a snake, so that if ever a snake looked like a stick you wouldn't die) helped to keep people alive, and thus ironically created false gods (for example zues/thor who controlled lightning/thunder which was created by jumping to the conclusion that the big roar/light was created by some big scary thing) It is going to stay and has a rightful place in society. Yeah that makes sense...wtf were the people who wrote this link thinking?

I wish I knew where I found it, but there is a video about superstition with an example of a bird in a room with a food dispenser. There is a button that is linked to give food if the bird pushes it. Bird figures it out and starts pushing it. Then the machine is changed to give food out at random, and the bird gets confused...then just by chance as the bird was looking over his shoulder the food came out...and then he did it again and the food came out again. So then the bird started looking over his shoulder all the time hoping for food.

Originally Posted by psychology student

Also, a bit off topic but I want place a bet with some atheists, about the afterlife:
I'll bet any atheist a banana that the afterlife exists, and we can pay each other then, or not! Sound good to you.

No atheist would ever take that bet, we gain nothing from it either way. If there is no afterlife, we get no banana, if there is then we get no banana. It's a lose lose situation and I want my banana damn it.

Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

The best I can hope for at this point is for people to remove religion from politics and shut up about crazy things that the bible says about the evils of being gay and all of that fun stuff.

Right, isn't it funny how a part of the bible that they reject anyway has influence over them? What about shaving the sides of their heads? Or the ever popular owning a Canadian. I bet they don't adhere to that. Of course being gay, that's some immoral sin that they are allowed to use that portion of text to demean homosexuals.

Korittke said:
"What a POS argument.
The human brain (especially the male) is also inclined towards physical agression and violence. So this means we should just give up doing something about it all together.
Oh yeah, and religion has always been part of our culture, much like racism, slavery and witchcraft, so those are also perfectly fine".

Yes, there may be cynical things in our genes, but my argument didn't intend to propose that we shouldn't fight them. Moreover, you imply that religion is one of these things (racism, violence), I believe that it is not. It, well Christianity at least, leads to the helping of people.


And Sandform..... take the bet you have nothing to lose