Interesting idea. Perhaps a religion may not develop, but a sense of 'something beyond us' may still arise. Belief seems to be hard-wired into our brains, and from an evolutionary viewpoint, it may be easy to see why.
The fact that the vast majority of humans are believers of one persuasion or...
Paraprakrti
A good reply. Thank you. I agree with your reasoning, but just to pick up on the above part I quoted:
The important thing is when these children answer exam questions on evolution and bring their / their parents' religion into their answers. That has cost them.
I'm not saying the parents shouldn't be of a particular religious or political persuasion - of course they will be. What I'm saying is that these beliefs shouldn't be imposed on the child. Luckily, most religions do have values which are universal, which should be imparted to the child...
Expected by whom? The parents? The child? Wider society? Personally, I think the child should be expected to make its own mind up when it is old enough, regardless of its parents religious beliefs. Parents shouldn't be raising children as christian, sikh, wiccan etc any more than they should be...
Thanks for the frubal. Google 'natural burial' or 'green burial' for more info. There are woodland areas of the UK dedicated to these type of burials. The more people buried there, the larger the forest grows because of the tree planting over the coffins. What better way to be remembered than...
That's a good question. How would we know if they did? What signs would we be looking for? Perhaps the most obvious species to consider would be chimps.
(perhaps best to discuss this on another thread, rather than intrude on this one.)
Cardboard / wicker coffin in the ground with a tree planted over it.
If my organs work, anyone who needs them can have them (might not want my liver, though!)
The Sum of Awe and Engyo:
It's difficult to know what to say, here. I've had a much loved dog (Pepper) die through cancer, and I currently have a lab (Cassie) who's almost 10. My dogs have ranked amongst my best friends, and have been with me through some rough times.
What I focus on is what...
Well, that's a nice story, and it's your prerogative to believe it, but an ancient story isn't really evidence, is it? If you see intelligence behind tidal movements and chemistry, fine, but perhaps you could offer a bit more in terms of verifiable evidence beyond the particular ancient text...