What Would Be Lost?

[lunamoth]

Imagine ... No religion. None. Nada. Kaput.

What (of positive value) would be lost?

I suspect many are tempted to quickly type "nothing," or list the negative things commonly associated with religion. But, for discussion, if you can think of anything you would miss that is not replaceable by alternatives, what might that be?

 

[Quagmire]

Imagine ... No religion. None. Nada. Kaput.

What (of positive value) would be lost?

I suspect many are tempted to quickly type "nothing," or list the negative things commonly associated with religion. But, for discussion, if you can think of anything you would miss that is not replaceable by alternatives, what might that be?

Well for one thing, what would we call this place?

 

[McBell]

Well for one thing, what would we call this place?

Seems to me that would depend on when religion disappeared.
If it never existed, Who knows.

If religion disappeared right now, it seems to me that we would be spending quite some time explaining to folks what religion was.

Of course, with all the differing meanings people have of the word 'religion', that may well take quite some time.

 

[Alex_G]

Great art and architecture would be a big one for me.

 

[Quagmire]

Seems to me that would depend on when religion disappeared.
If it never existed, Who knows.

If religion disappeared right now, it seems to me that we would be spending quite some time explaining to folks what religion was.

Do you have any idea how hard it would be for someone to troll retrospectively?

 

[McBell]

Do you have any idea how hard it would be for someone to troll retrospectively?

hmmm...
interesting point.

Could we still give it a try?

 

[Quagmire]

hmmm...
interesting point.

Could we still give it a try?

Nah, it would be sort of like bashing disco.

 

[McBell]

Nah, it would be sort of like bashing disco.

*shudders uncontrollably*

 

[lunamoth]

Could/would we still have myth? What would that look like?

Is myth of value?

 

[Quagmire]

Could/would we still have myth? What would that look like?

Is myth of value?

Sure. I mean, I don't think anyone other than a cpl of fringe groups here and there believe in Greek Mythology at this point, but those stories are still with us. Heck, we're still making movies based on them (mostly really bad ones ).

 

[Meow Mix]

Could/would we still have myth? What would that look like?

Is myth of value?

As a particularly nerdy Tolkienist, I insist that myth has value -- and I would miss it if none were there!

 

[bigbadgirl]

If religion did not exist, it would be replaced by other beliefs. Simply put, people want a life after theirs ends. It helps them to cope with their own mortality.

 

[Me Myself]

If religion didn´t exist, that would probably be because there are no more humans.

Or whatever there is that is calling itself "human" is probably VERY differrent than what exist today.

 

[lunamoth]

If religion did not exist, it would be replaced by other beliefs. Simply put, people want a life after theirs ends. It helps them to cope with their own mortality.

But wouldn't that still be religion? If not, how is a supernatural belief in an afterlife different from religion?

 

[lunamoth]

As a particularly nerdy Tolkienist, I insist that myth has value -- and I would miss it if none were there!

Do you think mythical stories such as Lotr would exist without per-existing religion, or spawning religion?

 

[The Sum of Awe]

We would have no more cool symbols or art or pieces in movie films like Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Harry Potter wouldn't have gotten the idea of magic if nobody had believed in it (it's not a religion but still ridding religion would technically indicate the loss of all spiritual beliefs) etc.



Without religion, things would suck IMO. But there are times that it would also be good if it didn't exist.

 

[lunamoth]

Sure. I mean, I don't think anyone other than a cpl of fringe groups here and there believe in Greek Mythology at this point, but those stories are still with us. Heck, we're still making movies based on them (mostly really bad ones ).

True. However, do you think Greek Mythology would even arise without religious beliefs in the first place? And, just because something is known to be completely fictional, religions still come out of those myths (Jediism and Scientology).

 

[Meow Mix]

Do you think mythical stories such as Lotr would exist without per-existing religion, or spawning religion?

Tough question. Even Tolkien's legendarium (of which the Lord of the Rings trilogy is just the tiniest tip of the iceburg of the history of Middle Earth) is based on a lot of European mythology, especially Norse. J.K. Rowling seemed to write about a reasonably fantastic world without a mythological backdrop; I guess depending on how deeply we want to connect witchcraft/sorcery with myth.

I think it's strictly possible for myth to be generated in lieu of religion in theory -- but in practice I think if the world were to "reset" back to the dawn of civilization a different set of religions would develop all over again with a different set of mythology to go along with it.

So yeah, I think religions spawn myths; and if they don't, I think it's likely that myths spawn religions unless a given culture knows methods of thoughts that avoid superstitious thinking. I doubt that latter part would be true of any early culture generating mythology though.

 

[Sunstone]

I don't think religion is the cause of mythology. Mythology seems to be quite similar to dreaming.

 

[lunamoth]

Tough question. Even Tolkien's legendarium (of which the Lord of the Rings trilogy is just the tiniest tip of the iceburg of the history of Middle Earth) is based on a lot of European mythology, especially Norse. J.K. Rowling seemed to write about a reasonably fantastic world without a mythological backdrop; I guess depending on how deeply we want to connect witchcraft/sorcery with myth.

The Harry Potter series is an interesting example of myth, and I do think it qualifies as myth. It has good pitted against evil, with fallible humans caught in the middle and being victorious when they center on 'good.'

I think it's strictly possible for myth to be generated in lieu of religion in theory -- but in practice I think if the world were to "reset" back to the dawn of civilization a different set of religions would develop all over again with a different set of mythology to go along with it.

I think so, too. It is an interesting thought experiment.

So yeah, I think religions spawn myths; and if they don't, I think it's likely that myths spawn religions unless a given culture knows methods of thoughts that avoid superstitious thinking. I doubt that latter part would be true of any early culture generating mythology though.

Very interesting point. Religion does often seem rooted in what we consider superstitious thinking. Scientific thinking appears to offer an alternative, so it is fun to speculate whether a culture that started out with scientific thinking, say a group of scientists stranded on a desert island, would develop anything we would consider religion, or not.