Religion is one of the human endeavors - it was an extremely powerful and useful one for a large part of our history - credit must be given where it is due. But like all endeavours, it has a cost - the cost of blind faith, dogma, intolerance, prejudice and violence. Throughout history, cultural, social, political and scientific utilities of religion had paid for its cost. Today, this cost is most apparent in the political, ideological and military friction between the west and the middle east. Fundamentalism, evangelism, creationism, extremism are other examples of the cost of religion. Such friction can and does arise for many other reasons - oil, power, money, greed, women, territorialism and nationalism. These are different from other possible reasons for this, such as natural disasters, food failure or basic living standards - they are different because they represent faults or unpatched parts of our civilization.
However, religion is the only costly endevear that cant pay for itself anymore - oil gives energy, power glues together societies and cultures, money gets goods, greed runs economies, women give sex^, territorialism gives some safety, nationalism gives pride - Religion does nothing that is greater than its harms. Why? Because most of the previous uses of religion have been replaced - religion for socialization [Mass media], explainations [Science], treatment [medicine], applications [psychology] and guidance [philosophy]. Religion has truely become a relic, a dying zombie clutching onto anything that can help it survive for a little more before the belief in supernatural inevitably collapses in a progressing and developed post-capitalist/scientific/future society - this is why religions seems to be escalating, with fundamentalists and extremists having the second largest expansion in numbers [topped only by non-belief] in the last decade. This is also why it is becoming the single most unneccesary object that is also potentially harmful. Other of the failings of human civilisation have two important features that religions dont - they have practical uses and they are open to deliberation and compromise - this is why religion needs to recede, atleast into moderation. It is no something you want in large quantities when we are a global community, capable of massive annihilation of any or all parts of our planet.
Moreover, in such a idealist society as I described, there will have to be very few 'masses' or labourers, only specialists and experts, operatives and organisers. Only such a refined, developed and sophisticated society can 'let go of God" and only such a society can ensure safely, progress and happiness for all members of the species - a requiste for any global community. Education is the single most important thing we can do today - we have our scientists, researchers and experts, but the public, the masses, the common man are far removed and often ignorant of what is happening at the cutting edge of our species' endeavours - this disconnect will become more and more pronounced and influential as numbers, ease of life and speed of development and progress increase - the result of which may hold back the intelligencia from ushering in the future. Even in a space-faring species, the common and average representative is a person perhaps equivalent to the best of a couple centuries in the past - if we are to be a true "God species" the most dominant, successful, powerful, progressive and internally fully satisfied species on this planet, then the 6 - 6.5 billion of our 7 billion individuals have to become a part of better, advanced and more sophisticated enterprises within their chosen fields of the human endeavours.
An education which can do this can only be secular and has to be so. Such a drive to learn, to understand and know can never come to those who are certain of things they cannot even prove, explain or substantiate. High moderation and secularisation is only path I can think of that would not cause the technological and scientific infancy of a civilisation to destroy itself - because it can and because many willingly would. Fundamentism and strong theism* for a religious personal God cannot have a place in a safe, just and prosperous space-faring global community.
*My mom is the only weak theist I have ever met/communiated with. If pushed, she would fall as far back as deism and pantheism - a long way from religion and personal God. I wonder if Wynn or Jan consider themselves strong/weak theists/agnostics.
^no sexism intended
However, religion is the only costly endevear that cant pay for itself anymore - oil gives energy, power glues together societies and cultures, money gets goods, greed runs economies, women give sex^, territorialism gives some safety, nationalism gives pride - Religion does nothing that is greater than its harms. Why? Because most of the previous uses of religion have been replaced - religion for socialization [Mass media], explainations [Science], treatment [medicine], applications [psychology] and guidance [philosophy]. Religion has truely become a relic, a dying zombie clutching onto anything that can help it survive for a little more before the belief in supernatural inevitably collapses in a progressing and developed post-capitalist/scientific/future society - this is why religions seems to be escalating, with fundamentalists and extremists having the second largest expansion in numbers [topped only by non-belief] in the last decade. This is also why it is becoming the single most unneccesary object that is also potentially harmful. Other of the failings of human civilisation have two important features that religions dont - they have practical uses and they are open to deliberation and compromise - this is why religion needs to recede, atleast into moderation. It is no something you want in large quantities when we are a global community, capable of massive annihilation of any or all parts of our planet.
Moreover, in such a idealist society as I described, there will have to be very few 'masses' or labourers, only specialists and experts, operatives and organisers. Only such a refined, developed and sophisticated society can 'let go of God" and only such a society can ensure safely, progress and happiness for all members of the species - a requiste for any global community. Education is the single most important thing we can do today - we have our scientists, researchers and experts, but the public, the masses, the common man are far removed and often ignorant of what is happening at the cutting edge of our species' endeavours - this disconnect will become more and more pronounced and influential as numbers, ease of life and speed of development and progress increase - the result of which may hold back the intelligencia from ushering in the future. Even in a space-faring species, the common and average representative is a person perhaps equivalent to the best of a couple centuries in the past - if we are to be a true "God species" the most dominant, successful, powerful, progressive and internally fully satisfied species on this planet, then the 6 - 6.5 billion of our 7 billion individuals have to become a part of better, advanced and more sophisticated enterprises within their chosen fields of the human endeavours.
An education which can do this can only be secular and has to be so. Such a drive to learn, to understand and know can never come to those who are certain of things they cannot even prove, explain or substantiate. High moderation and secularisation is only path I can think of that would not cause the technological and scientific infancy of a civilisation to destroy itself - because it can and because many willingly would. Fundamentism and strong theism* for a religious personal God cannot have a place in a safe, just and prosperous space-faring global community.
*My mom is the only weak theist I have ever met/communiated with. If pushed, she would fall as far back as deism and pantheism - a long way from religion and personal God. I wonder if Wynn or Jan consider themselves strong/weak theists/agnostics.
^no sexism intended
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