What do you think is the top reason people leave religion and spiritual paths? I think it’s science. However, I don’t think science is intentionally trying to lead people away from these things. I think it’s just happening. The only other reason I can think of would be killing in the name of religion. Are there more you can think of?
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Is Science The Top Reason People Abandon Spiritual Pursuits?
- Thread starter Jimmy
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I Am Hugh
Researcher
Science and killing in the name of religion may be excuses but not reasons. If someone is looking for something they will find it. Salvation or science. There's no reason they can't have both. They choose one over the other. If it isn't science, it will be something else, only because they are looking for something else.
First, religion is a social phenomenon, while spiritual practices tends to be individual pursuits that aim to advance the self's life experience, like meditation, yoga, or even chanting and prayer. The two can overlap, but they aren't synonymous.
If people abandon religion due to them becoming better educated then it is likely due to religions making false and irrational claims that are contrary to fact and science. The Catholic Church has gone a long way in adjusting to what science discovers about the universe, namely changing the model of the universe via Galileo, and accepting evolution. Conservative Christians tend to believe in creationism which is a false and fraudulent business product. The believers are exploited and they can't seem to understand how they were taken advantage of.
Still, the core ideas of Christianity are absurd and non-factual, so difficult for the most reasonable people to accept. Any claim of a God existing is pretty far-fetched, and no claim can be supported by evidence and reasoning. It is to be expected that skilled, critical thinkers will be well educated, so it's more of a correlation that a thinker rejects religious claims and also is educated in science.
As noted religion is a social phenomenon which is why you will find citizens in the West most likely to be some sort of Christian, and people in India will be Hindu, and people in the Middle East will be Muslim. Citizens will tend to adopt the trends they are taught are true. Even those with criticsl thinking skill may hold on to religious beliefs for the sake of family cohesion, or even personal identity.
The core idea of Jesus returning with a new earth is easy for me to accept. It’s easy for most Christians I’ve talked with to accept. Oh well. To each their own.
A lack of the ability to explain the universe beyond saying God did it.
IMO, the fault is not with science, the fault lies with religion. Too many gaps and what does get answered often doesn't make sense.
I'm sure different reasons from different people, that's just how I see it.
I understand science very well, and I can explain the universe with science, and I still choose to believe in God as many of the Christians that I have talked to can and do as well. Most Christians are highly intelligent people.
It's not consistent with reality, or based on fact. So that it is easy for you illustrates how easy it's been for religions to proliferate among humans.
That's because religions are social phenomenon, and they are adopted passively instead of understood as knowledge.
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I think most Christians understand it as knowledge and the ones who don’t, stop being Christian. Everybody’s happy.
No, they are told it is true and they believe it despite the stories being inconsistent with reality. No one comes to a conclusion a God exists based on evidence, it is for other reasons. It's similar to groupthink.
I do know people who have left or at least heavily questioned their faith due to a terrible family tragedy.
Madsaac
Active Member
Religion isn't as important as it once was because we can explain things that only religion/god/supernatural once could and it's clear to me that society can function quite comfortably without religion, and better as far as I'm concerned, just look at Western society.
Spirituality is another question, it may be growing because it can be such an individual thing and doesn't effect how laws are made.
Spirituality is another question, it may be growing because it can be such an individual thing and doesn't effect how laws are made.
Right. I knew I was forgetting one. That was on the tip of my tongue when I made this thread.
That’s one way to look at it. Still religions around the world remain popular.
Maybe not knowledge but definitely wisdom
People don't usually abandon spiritual pursuits but change their spiritual pursuits. People looking on may not understand what they are doing, however its not abandoning a spiritual pursuit. They might be anesthetized, but they don't abandon. The pursuit is still there, like a smoldering coal.
I never questioned the intelligence of Christians. Individual Christians have their own reason for their beliefs. I'm just pointing out my reasons. Others might agree or might not. I'm pointing out for myself, when I went looking for answers within Christianity I kept frustratingly running into dead ends.
HonestJoe
Well-Known Member
I'm curious about what you're imagining here. How exactly do you think science causes people to leave religion (maybe look up what the word actually means first)?
I can understand (and have witnessed) new or different knowledge and understanding shifting people's religious beliefs and practices, but that isn't necessarily due to science (or even factually accurate). People can leave religion for flawed or irrational reasons just as they can join them for flawed or irrational reasons.
Anyway, in my experience, people tend to move away from religion slowly over time, even without really noticing for a long time. This is especially true when those beliefs and religion came from their childhood upbringing. Of course, that doesn't automatically mean they move away from religion entirely, and certainly not some form of abstract spirituality, even if you don't perceive, recognise or accept that.
mikkel_the_dane
My own religion
I think it is a lot of factors and not just science. I left because of morality and then started finding my own way.
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. . .
Science is a top reason I developed religious pursuits.
Science is an inherently religious pursuit. It stems from precisely the same impetus as the more flexible and whimsical narrative storytelling of religions - a strong desire to understand, make sense of, and find meaning in the world around us. Science is why I do not have "faith" in my gods, I know my gods. They're literally studied by the sciences themselves as one method of many to get to know them.
Science is a top reason I developed religious pursuits.
Science is an inherently religious pursuit. It stems from precisely the same impetus as the more flexible and whimsical narrative storytelling of religions - a strong desire to understand, make sense of, and find meaning in the world around us. Science is why I do not have "faith" in my gods, I know my gods. They're literally studied by the sciences themselves as one method of many to get to know them.