What will happen to organized religion in the next 50 years?

[Gomeza]

I'm just old enough to remember what it was like 50 years ago. All stores and businesses were closed on Sunday (shopping on Sunday was unheard of). The entire populace of the small town I lived in at the time would get up early Sunday morning, put on their best duds and trot off to one of a number of services held concurrently in all of the local churches throughout the day. The services themselves were mostly packed houses, it was important to arrive early so as not to suffer the indignity of finding only standing room at the back of the hall.

Since that time the number of churches has grown dramatically, reaching a saturation point it seems about 20 years ago with the last church building boom. Today, a great deal of attrition has taken place, congregation amalgamation is common, the fewer services held on Sundays are generally attended by audiences a fraction of the size of a few decades ago. Casual wear has replaced the suits and dresses of our parents. Church buildings quite often become available on the local real estate market.

Are we witnessing the death knell of this type of worship? If the current trends continue what will organized religion look like in 50 years?

 

[no-body]

I don't really believe anything has changed. Study the trends of the past and you will see the trends of the future. Sure technology and the spread of information might affect things, for a little while. But people are too afraid of death in this culture to really throw off the shackles of religion.

 

[A Troubled Man]

Interesting question. I refer to the UK and the census conducted there in 2001 and then in 2011 in regards to the question of what religion they were.

In 2001, 72% of the population "ticked" the box indicating they were Christian. It was well known the state implemented policies on the people based on the fact the majority were 72% Christian, legislation that included topics such as abortion, gay rights and religious beliefs being separated from the legal system, to name a few.

The Dawkins Foundation then lobbied to have the religious questions removed from the 2011 census as they suspected the results could be misused in the same way, but failed to do so. Interestingly enough, the results of that question changed dramatically and dropped to 54%.

The Foundation then commissioned Ipsos Mori to poll those who "ticked" the Christian box immediately following the census to ask them what they believed and why.

Those results were extraordinary. It was shown that many of those who called themselves Christians did so based entirely on the answer they gave as to why they called themselves Christians, which was simply that they wanted to be good people. This was taken further to ask if those same people would turn to the Bible to solve their problems or get their answers. Only 10% of that 54% said they would.

This is the trend we are seeing for organized religion, perhaps not a death knell in the next 50 years, but with the advent of the internet and the power of knowledge and information offered to the world, organized religions are certainly diminishing in their advantage to swerve the people towards solving their problems and getting their answers from ancient Bronze age myths and superstitions, if nothing else.

 

[Quintessence]

When they start building Pagan "churches" you can bet your balls that I'll be attending. The closest thing I can get are Unitarian Universalist fellowships. To me, the problem is that the available infrastructure to support religion isn't supporting its needs or diversity. In the United States - which is arguably the most religiously diverse nation in the world - this is a serious problem. People like me who want the benefits that organization has to offer can't find it because we're a religious minority and not supported by the current infrastructure.

 

[1137]

Well I don't think organized religion will be dying out very soon. There have been organized systems of belief and ritual since before recorded human history, and it's only gotten worse in the last 2,000 years with Christianity. People need something to hold onto, and religion works for most of them as almost a drug that keeps them calm. That is not going to change. Perhaps Christianity is going out, but something new will replace it, as with all the other religions that have come and faded.

 

[Nakosis]

Are we witnessing the death knell of this type of worship? If the current trends continue what will organized religion look like in 50 years?

Organized religion will not die so easily. It will as it has always done, evolve to survive.

Anyway I think these things happen in cycles.

 

[PolyHedral]

It'll probably shrink significantly, though it dying out entirely is unlikely. The gaps are getting smaller, but almost certainly won't vanish in 50 years.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Im sure there will be changes in infrastructure and new ideas will surface while other aspects are discarded and modified generation to generation.

 

[Gomeza]

Interesting question. I refer to the UK and the census conducted there in 2001 and then in 2011 in regards to the question of what religion they were.

In 2001, 72% of the population "ticked" the box indicating they were Christian. It was well known the state implemented policies on the people based on the fact the majority were 72% Christian, legislation that included topics such as abortion, gay rights and religious beliefs being separated from the legal system, to name a few.

The Dawkins Foundation then lobbied to have the religious questions removed from the 2011 census as they suspected the results could be misused in the same way, but failed to do so. Interestingly enough, the results of that question changed dramatically and dropped to 54%.

The Foundation then commissioned Ipsos Mori to poll those who "ticked" the Christian box immediately following the census to ask them what they believed and why.

Those results were extraordinary. It was shown that many of those who called themselves Christians did so based entirely on the answer they gave as to why they called themselves Christians, which was simply that they wanted to be good people. This was taken further to ask if those same people would turn to the Bible to solve their problems or get their answers. Only 10% of that 54% said they would.

This is the trend we are seeing for organized religion, perhaps not a death knell in the next 50 years, but with the advent of the internet and the power of knowledge and information offered to the world, organized religions are certainly diminishing in their advantage to swerve the people towards solving their problems and getting their answers from ancient Bronze age myths and superstitions, if nothing else.

The results of the polling you reference also illustrate another reality. It is only in the last decade or so that citizens of western societies have felt comfortable answering such questions honestly. To profess non belief had finally become something one could do without remorse or repercussion, a trend we can assume that is still moving along the same trajectory going forward.

A number of other responses to this thread seemed to be articulating the notion that some form of religious belief will always be a part of the human condition. Despite not addressing the question posed in this thread, I must agree with that but would add that we are seeing a subtle shift from group mentalities to more personalized or individual forms of belief and religious practices.

 

[Vultar]

The results of the polling you reference also illustrate another reality. It is only in the last decade or so that citizens of western societies have felt comfortable answering such questions honestly. To profess non belief had finally become something one could do without remorse or repercussion, a trend we can assume that is still moving along the same trajectory going forward.

A number of other responses to this thread seemed to be articulating the notion that some form of religious belief will always be a part of the human condition. Despite not addressing the question posed in this thread, I must agree with that but would add that we are seeing a subtle shift from group mentalities to more personalized or individual forms of belief and religious practices.

I agree with Gomeza, although people will always need some form of belief, it will become moe individualized in the future (or virtual for that matter)

 

[InformedIgnorance]

In the economically developed world Organised religions will probably continue to diminish in size (though not at current rates) and continue to grow more fervent, they will continue to adopt more evangelical, fideistic faith through faith approaches to their belief systems moving further away from rationally justified theologies (though they will continue to present a more moderate element for their need to interface with modern society). In addition, there will be an increased move towards non mainstream religions, which will likely reduce the relative importance of the established religions - however unlikely the importance of religions in general.

In the economically developing world, they will continue to increase their prevalence, resulting in an even more disproportionate influence for the developed world's influence over the developing world's theological institutions (not merely the philosophies, but the institutions, which will continue to be run by the developed world) - they will however, be forced in all likelihood to concede to more rational secular policy in some areas such as birth control, where eugenics under the guise of family or society planning will grow in importance. Meanwhile, non mainstream theological positions and even competing secular positions will likely be increasingly portrayed as absurd, even evil - which are potentially the cause for problems in society and should be rooted out from the developing nations.

 

[DavyCrocket2003]

I think there is a tremendous flux in our societies right now. I agree that these things go in cycles. However I think we're at a very fluid point in the cycle. I believe that in the next 50 years things are going to reach a crescendo. I believe the world will continue to become even more polarized and subdivided. The myriad world religions will continue to decay into meaninglessness save for a few that will... hmm... clump together. Right now you can find good, genuine, sincere people in pretty much any religion. I believe that over the next 50 years these people will come to recognize that what they have in common unites them and that the differences between them are trivial. This will occur in contrast to the darkening and worsening political systems as the world becomes more unstable. Powerful, greedy men (and women) will continue to seek world domination and the fabric of our society will be strained to the last thread. Eventually all-out war will break out as the enmity between the haves and the have-nots reaches a critical point and the world will become engulfed in chaos on a truly unimaginable scale.

 

[DavyCrocket2003]

By the way, I'm not trying to be funny. I believe this sky-is-falling scenario accurately represents the trajectory we are currently on.

 

[HonestJoe]

I believe the movement will continue pretty much as it already has. There will always be religion but it will become more varied and fragmented, with the old monolithic faiths shrinking or splitting. I think there will be fewer people actively in a religion but instead considering themselves generally spiritual with an individual take on that.

In the West, I expect to see further development of forms of Islam subtly altered to fit in to secular society, much in the way has Christianity developed and there will probably be more cross-over between the faiths.

From a day-to-day practical point of view, I don't think there will be a vast difference in general terms. We'll all get on with what we do regardless.

 

[Heathen Hammer]

I am uncertain, but I believe that while technically speaking the overall number of the American population who seriously follow the top organized religions, will continue it's current decline.... I think that the organizations themselves will continue on. They are simply too large, too powerfully embedded in politics, and too much of a cash cow for their owners to be allowed to die. Essentially they are corporations making lots of money and pulling massive strings in DC, and animals of that type must be deliberately killed to get rid of them; they won't simply fade away from being ignored. They can pull more blood from fewer stones for a good long while, yet.

 

[Breathe]

Organized religion will not die so easily. It will as it has always done, evolve to survive.

Anyway I think these things happen in cycles.

This.

 

[Gomeza]

. . . They can pull more blood from fewer stones for a good long while, yet.

I particularly agree with this point. In North American society a great number of religions exist in isolated enclaves where the trends of shrinking denominations are nowhere near as prevalent as they are in other segments of society. 50 years may not be enough time for modern attitudes towards organized religion to permeate such religious strongholds.

 

[A Troubled Man]

A number of other responses to this thread seemed to be articulating the notion that some form of religious belief will always be a part of the human condition. Despite not addressing the question posed in this thread, I must agree with that but would add that we are seeing a subtle shift from group mentalities to more personalized or individual forms of belief and religious practices.

I don't really view religious belief as part of the human condition in such that it is and always will be part of us. Religious belief is merely just a phase of ignorance evolving humans are experiencing, similar to other types of ignorant behaviors like slavery, racism, bigotry, etc. - this too shall pass.

It will be more of an economical factor as more people leave organized religions, the organizations will have to rely more and more on the few that attend demanding more and more money from them in order to survive.

 

[Jacksnyte]

My quick answer: It will be re-branded, re-worked, re-commodified, and more obviously sold to consumers!

 

[Father Heathen]

Die out, hopefully.