Which Religions Will Die Out?

[AstralProjectee]

One more major point which is that if there is anything at all to any of this spiritual stuff, then there absolutely has to be a path from science to find spirituality or a spirit world. Hence science will be the path to spirituality, we just don't see it yet. Science isn't advanced enough. But science will find spirituality IMO

 

[Midget01]

Within the next thousand years, which major religious traditions of today (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, whichever others you'd like to talk about) can you see dying out entirely? If any.

Will your own religion die out? I imagine not

Other side of the coin, which ones do you think are likely to flourish, grow, spread? What'll be the changes to such religions as they grow? Might they include religions that are currently pretty small, like the Baha'i Faith, the Rastafari movement, Raelianism, Cao Dai?

I'll be interested to hear people's opinions.

This is not a hard question. Most of the religions that have no real basis will not be around for Long. The Jewish Faith founded by God and The Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ has a Promise in Scripture that it will remain until the END TIME - the Parousia. Many other Churches have already come and went and this will continue until the last day. While there are a few Sects of religion that hang on by the thread unless they change their views may become some of the fallen religions Christ speaks about the fruit of the vine. The Catholic Church is not a sect or a denomination. It is the first; others have broken away from it not the other way around. If something does not bare fruit it has no life and does not grow and continue with life. But to answer a similar question at the same time will Religion ever Die Out? No because there is a God and His creation will always celebrate and honor their God.

 

[BilliardsBall]

Christianity is waning quite utterly in America and Europe yet flourishes in Asia, Africa and Central America. Soon the end of the age will occur and their will be two faiths only.

 

[neologist]

Organized religion has, for all of recorded history, obfuscated the truth about God in order to promote its own interests. Whenever the ruling powers have felt the need to declare war, the priesthood has, like a prostitute, delivered cannon fodder.

How long do you think it will take for world leaders to comprehend that true peace cannot be realized without removing the cancer of religion? Interestingly, the bible addresses this same point in Revelation, chapters 17 and 18, describing the demise of the aforementioned prostitute.

So, will all religion be destroyed as John Lennon Imagined?

I would suggest the only religion that might survive is the one passing the test of John 13:35

 

[Kolibri]

Now, when Micah's prophesy it completed is a question however I hope it is sooner than latter.

Jehovah's Witnesses see this prophesy as in mid-fulfillment already. Already there is a worldwide community of people worshiping this God who will not only refuse to fight in war but also come to terms with not even learning war anymore. We have considered all of us in the 'final part of the days' for 100 years now.

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Interesting question!

And a LOT of varying views ...

I think that Buddhism is most likely 2 expand. It's the most "practical" and adaptable - it's really more of a psychology than a religion. Buddha urged people NOT to take things on faith but only what you can test 4 yourself.

Thanks agian 4 the topic!

 

[Shadow Wolf]

There is a long term worldwide desecularization trend that is well established.

Where? Over the past 100 years, in various parts of the world, there has been a very strong shift towards liberal democracies and secular humanism. In the Western world, these are pretty much a given. But even where there has not been either approach, such as China or USSR, secular and atheist views are still found.

I am confused by the "Christianity will continue to shrink" comments.

Because it is. We have sharpened our axes and we are chopping down god. We questioned "his kings" and removed them, and slowly we are working up the courage to question god.

All the Abrahamic faiths are growing faster than the rate of population growth worldwide, and the rate of growth is accelerating.

I doubt this. They would be spreading like wildfires if they were. Islam only got ahead because people suddenly knew about it after 9/11. To average the numbers I got, there are 3 births per second. This means 32,000,000 new converts each and every year, with very few people leaving.

I am convinced that eventually ALL religions (of man) will die out.

Do not forget yours also came from man.

I believe I am probably that prophet, which, if true, would mean that one religion is actually more of an acceptance and encouragement to study all religions.

You aren't.

 

[we-live-now]

The Bible tells us that all religions will merge into one. Probably from one great prophet, the Savior, who will end war by teaching love. The Bible tells us that all nations will go to that prophet (actually called a mountain, but I believe it is talking about that prophet) to get wisdom and rule accordingly.

I believe I am probably that prophet, which, if true, would mean that one religion is actually more of an acceptance and encouragement to study all religions. The basic concept that God speaks to us through all religions.

What would die out is the hatred of any religion. The "holier than thou" attitude. The whole concept of separating ourselves into different religions, and saying you are a christian, you are a jew, etc. No one would say "I'm a christian", rather they would say "I am studying the teachings of Christ".

No one would worship any person, not even the Savior. There would be no assumption that even the Savior is right, but rather people would use their brains in all things. They would have respect for the Savior, and for other experts in their fields, but not to the point of insanity.

That is what I would expect the future to be like, If I am the Savior, and even if someone else is the Savior. The Savior would have to be a humble person, not a person who demands worship or claims to be above everyone else.

No one can save mankind, without enlisting the help of the people, not just help in doing work, but also help in making the decisions. There is simply to many decisions to be made. One person, even with God's help, can not make all the decisions that need to be made. This means that the Savior MUST be humble and allow the people to think for themselves and act on their decisions.

Tony

Very interesting thoughts Tony.

I spend a LOT of time deeply studying scripture and I have to say that my heart enjoyed what you wrote.

I believe that the entire Earth (including our natural bodies and brains) is Christ's body and it is still "lacking form and is void" (according to Genesis 1:2). God calls it currently a "mere shadow" in Hebrews 10:1 and Col 2:17 (as they are still under law).

However they (and we) will be instantly transformed in a "twinkle of the eye" (1 Cor 15:52) into the "true substance" and thus "having true form" when Christ (who IS the true substance/form) appears to us. Just like a "flash of lightening" in the sky (our minds) he will "appear". Matt 24:27

The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters Genesis 1:2

things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ Col 2:17

This will be the time when he "changes it like a garment".

And,

“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they all will become old like a garment,
12 And like a mantle You will roll them up;
Like a garment they will also be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.” Hebrews 1:10-12

Going to be very exciting my friend.

God bless.

 

[we-live-now]

Organized religion has, for all of recorded history, obfuscated the truth about God in order to promote its own interests. Whenever the ruling powers have felt the need to declare war, the priesthood has, like a prostitute, delivered cannon fodder.

How long do you think it will take for world leaders to comprehend that true peace cannot be realized without removing the cancer of religion? Interestingly, the bible addresses this same point in Revelation, chapters 17 and 18, describing the demise of the aforementioned prostitute.

So, will all religion be destroyed as John Lennon Imagined?

I would suggest the only religion that might survive is the one passing the test of John 13:35

Nice... I just heard that yesterday and thought... "wow, was that insightful"...

 

[we-live-now]

Where? Over the past 100 years, in various parts of the world, there has been a very strong shift towards liberal democracies and secular humanism. In the Western world, these are pretty much a given. But even where there has not been either approach, such as China or USSR, secular and atheist views are still found.

Because it is. We have sharpened our axes and we are chopping down god. We questioned "his kings" and removed them, and slowly we are working up the courage to question god.

I doubt this. They would be spreading like wildfires if they were. Islam only got ahead because people suddenly knew about it after 9/11. To average the numbers I got, there are 3 births per second. This means 32,000,000 new converts each and every year, with very few people leaving.

Do not forget yours also came from man.

You aren't.

Very insightful. I grew up a "Christian" and I very much enjoyed these words.

Because it is. We have sharpened our axes and we are chopping down god. We questioned "his kings" and removed them, and slowly we are working up the courage to question god.

So true IMHO. I believe that true faith, courage, and hope comes when we question God and all things.

Yes, my own religions will die too. I welcome that. I am trying to actively kill them, but finding I can't w/o killing "me". We all worship something or someone outwardly, don't we?

Now, if there is any truth inside us and the words we speak and live... THAT I believe will live on forever.

 

[Angel1]

Progress dictates that periodically, new schools or religions will upgrade the old and outdated. The old might still hold on for longer but eventually, they will die out being rendered obsolete by more recent developments and higher teachings.

Judaism was upgraded by the teachings of Jesus. He has already refuted most all of the objectionable teachings in the Old Testament. When Christ comes again, so will Christianity diminish with the coming of the new religion. This is part of the New Age or Age of Aquarius.

Hinduism was improved on by Buddhism which introduced a well-defined method of achieving the goal of self-realization of the Hindus. And Buddhism in turn will be further advanced with the prophesied coming of Maitreya.

Islam would appear to be in the process of reform through the coming of the Baha'i faith. We shall see.

As we advance in our spiritual development, new teachings are provided. There is no end to learning.

 

[Augustus]

I am confused by the "Christianity will continue to shrink" comments. All the Abrahamic faiths are growing faster than the rate of population growth worldwide, and the rate of growth is accelerating. There is a long term worldwide desecularization trend that is well established. How does that translate into shrinking?

Islamic population demographics pretty much assume everyone in every Islamic country is a Muslim, unless they belong to one of a few recognised religious minorities. If these minorities were converting to Islam at any significant rate then they wouldn't exist or would at least be visibly shrinking, which they are not. Islam is not therefore growing beyond population groups in the Islamic world. To not see it as shrinking in real terms, would require an apostasy rate of almost 0%. An incredibly low apostasy rate of even 0.001% would require maybe 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 actual conversions per year just to maintain parity.

These are not happening in the Islamic world, and contrary to what many people would have you believe, the number of people in the non-Islamic world who are converting remains very, very low. Give apostasy rates are probably significantly higher than 0.001%, it is hard to see where the growth is coming from.

Islam, considered the 'fastest growing religion', is almost certainly shrinking if you adjust for population growth.

In terms of the religions that have the most actual conversions, I would imagine that Christianity comfortably wins this at the moment, mostly from China, which is one of the few places seeing a significant uptake in religious adherence. Denominationally Protestantism is gaining the most converts and so is almost certainly the most converted to faith in the World.

The problem is that it is also near to the top of the faiths most people are leaving, as can be clearly seen in the West. If we look over the last 50 years, it is quite fanciful to believe that more people have joined Christianity than left it.

So where are all the net converts coming from to grow all Abrahamic religions beyond the population growth rate?

 

[Sees]

Progress dictates that periodically, new schools or religions will upgrade the old and outdated. The old might still hold on for longer but eventually, they will die out being rendered obsolete by more recent developments and higher teachings.

Judaism was upgraded by the teachings of Jesus. He has already refuted most all of the objectionable teachings in the Old Testament. When Christ comes again, so will Christianity diminish with the coming of the new religion. This is part of the New Age or Age of Aquarius.

Hinduism was improved on by Buddhism which introduced a well-defined method of achieving the goal of self-realization of the Hindus. And Buddhism in turn will be further advanced with the prophesied coming of Maitreya.

Islam would appear to be in the process of reform through the coming of the Baha'i faith. We shall see.

As we advance in our spiritual development, new teachings are provided. There is no end to learning.

New isn't always better, improved, or more advanced - to say the least...

 

[rusra02]

Within the next thousand years, which major religious traditions of today (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, whichever others you'd like to talk about) can you see dying out entirely? If any.

Will your own religion die out? I imagine not

Other side of the coin, which ones do you think are likely to flourish, grow, spread? What'll be the changes to such religions as they grow? Might they include religions that are currently pretty small, like the Baha'i Faith, the Rastafari movement, Raelianism, Cao Dai?

I'll be interested to hear people's opinions.

All religions except the one true faith will not gradually die out, IMO, but rather will soon be destroyed by the true God for their evil deeds.(Revelation 18:8)

 

[Kirran]

I'm getting some really interesting responses here, a great level of variation in thoughts on this. As one should expect

As for my personal thoughts, I think that existing religions, especially Christianity, will continue to get more diverse, with more polytheist and atheist denominations emerging. Among these diverse sects, I think that Mormonism will become a sizable family of denominations, while there'll be a few newer sects emerging in Sub-Saharan Africa and China. Some of the former will, I believe, be quite fundamentalist, along the lines of Wahhabism.

Islam, I think will have a big shift into liberalism, with lots of reforms, although there'll still be lots of people who reject such changes and stay orthodox. Current groups like the Ahmadis and Quranists will, I think, grow and I reckon there'll be more Baha'i-style spinoffs.

Buddhism, I think a few sizable Western denominations will eventually congeal from the mass of Western Buddhists, but that it'll become pretty fuzzy at the edges, fading into atheism and new-age equivalents. I can, however, see it gaining a presence in areas such as Africa, and continuing to grow in Latin America, as well as undergoing a bit of a revival in India. Hinduism, and to a lesser extent Sikhism, I can see developing big new communities outside South Asia, composed of various mixes of 'converts' and people of S. Asian backgrounds. These will likely adapt to local cultures.

Baha'i I think will grow to maybe fifty million globally and stabilise. Maybe. Cao Dai, the Pagan faiths etc, who knows.

As for which ones I can see dying out - I can see religious Judaism becoming much smaller, although probably not all the way to dying out. Zoroastrianism I think will probably disappear. In both cases, I think this will be due to increasing cultural assimilation, growing irreligious sentiments in certain areas, and intermarriage.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

I foresee a revival and strengthening of the Abrahamic faiths.

Global warming, over-population, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and other factors are almost certain to result in the destruction of liberal democracies and a rise of authoritarian or totalitarian states. In authoritarian states, the Abrahamic faiths will likely prove useful to the rulers as means of social control, and promoted for that reason.

The same factors (global warming, etc) are also almost certain to result in a reduction of standards of living and an increase in religiosity as people turn to their religions for charity.

and sales of snow shovels apparently... sacrificing to weather Gods to prevent bad weather goes back to the dawn of civilization. Christianity freed us from living under the yoke of superstitions like this

 

[Jumi]

I hope they would do it for the superstition of persecuting sexual minorities too.

 

[Sees]

and sales of snow shovels apparently... sacrificing to weather Gods to prevent bad weather goes back to the dawn of civilization. Christianity freed us from living under the yoke of superstitions like this

Definitely much less superstitious to be afraid of the Devil and pray to his archenemy.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

One more major point which is that if there is anything at all to any of this spiritual stuff, then there absolutely has to be a path from science to find spirituality or a spirit world. Hence science will be the path to spirituality, we just don't see it yet. Science isn't advanced enough. But science will find spirituality IMO

The opposite argument can be made, it is entirely consistent with the concept and power of faith, love, that proof cannot be found. You cannot force somebody to love you or you destroy love.

i.e. the very fact that the universe is such a mystery, that continually tests our curiosity to it's limits, is consentient with being a creative work.

For an accidental mechanism to do the same would have to be chalked up to yet one more coincidence

 

[LuisDantas]

One more major point which is that if there is anything at all to any of this spiritual stuff, then there absolutely has to be a path from science to find spirituality or a spirit world. Hence science will be the path to spirituality, we just don't see it yet. Science isn't advanced enough. But science will find spirituality IMO

How do you know that it did not already? Social and behavioral psychology are not incipient anymore. Nor is neurology.

What else is or would be missing?