The above statistics simply mean that most people have not had enough interest for a critical examination of the 2 perspectives, with an inclination to believe what ever they have been told. It is not important enough to effect their day to day lives, so a cursory look is all that is necessary for acceptance. If we cut to the chase and get right to the bottom of the key issue is the diametrical opposed axioms they are based on. If one is right the other is wrong.
I think the heated debate can be boiled down to the following simple difference between science and religion.
One is top down, the other is bottom up.
I believe that religion is loosing the battle of logic. When life is examined I think most rational humans would see quite clearly that the universe and life is built from the bottom up, not top down. Single cells grow into multicells organisms, simple groups of cells work in a symbiotic co-operation to create more complex structures over time culminating presently at humans and their higher biological co-operative systems. Contrary to this all the major institutional religions are built on the yet to be proved top down premise that some super creature eg god skillfully made all these nifty little gadgets wound them up with a little clockwork key, and let them all loose to see what would happen like a kid in a very large sand pit.
More importantly many of the "Big Questions" once the domain of only theologians are now, more and more being comprehended and answered with reason instead.
Today modern religions are institutionalized glossy corporate plastic wrapped theology marketed to consumers just like Mc Donalds or Amway or football. They have little semblance to the concept of the original noble conceivers. With 2 for 1 offers and promises of things such as an afterlife which can never be proven. they are all hype. They prey on our fears and weaknesses and condemn us as sinners sending us on a guilt trip because we are normal? And remember they are funded by some of the biggest billionaire multinationals on the planet eg the Vatican, that's a lot of bureaucrats and infrastructure to pull down if some one proves their reason to exist is a pure fabrication. Do I hear vested interest from the back of the crowd. Because they sure feel threatened by simple reason.
Early societies worshiped many gods, later societies invented reasons why all these polytheistic cultures where wrong and the new way of thinking meant that now there was only one real god, monotheism. It seems completely logical that currently humans looking at religion have decided in increasing numbers that this last supergod should get the boot, for exactly the same reason used to get rid of the early ones, atheistic.
For example if we believe in God and Jesus, do we therefore have to believe in Satan and angels and cherubim, and succubus, and witches, and fairys, and goblins, and werewolves, and where does it end. Or is there a gray area some where between angels and the easter bunny. Are you telling me father christmas is not real? (sigh of disappointment).
The simple solution is none of them exist, except in your mind.
Rational religious people is therefore an oxymoron.
So until the new rational religion is sociologically engineered, I don't think any of the current religious choices are any where near rational because they are all based on an incorrect interpretation of the facts. The only one that comes close is Buddhism, no super gurus, just the perfectly reasonable concept that "S**t Happens".
In my opinion the next big thing, will be when the earths super neural network (the Internet) gains sentience and decides whether humans have a place in history any more. And I reckon that will happen before the second coming. What does Jesus say about neural networks and the internet?
Cheers
