12th March 2009
“The church in its current form is dying in the West: that's for sure. What will take its place? And whence will it come?”
Andrew Sullivan
“The church in its current form is dying in the West: that's for sure. What will take its place? And whence will it come?”
Andrew Sullivan
March 12th, 2009 at 2:07
Hopefully logic and common sense.
March 12th, 2009 at 14:56
Logic and common sense would be wonderful. Unfortunately, I usually don’t see a lot of that.
March 12th, 2009 at 18:01
Why do we await anything to take it’s place? It should become an icon of days gone by. I say it’s about time. Hallelujah!
March 12th, 2009 at 21:25
If you think about all the different human needs and desires religion fulfills for people, it’s easy to see that SOMETHING is going to fill the void left behind. In fact, though, I don’t see most people giving it up until they have found something to take its place. For some, it’s psychotherapy (which is good for me, since I’m a therapist); for some it might be something like turning their will over to a charismatic politician or cultural leader or social cause. Most likely, people will get their various needs met by various sources for a few hundred years until religion of some sort comes creeping inevitably back. I think it’s important to keep in mind that the vast majority of people are not really interested in TRUTH / REALITY; rather, we are humans with various needs to fulfill, using reason mainly when it serves those needs.
March 13th, 2009 at 2:08
Hopefully it will be something that won’t corrupt and brutalize mankind like religion has for thousands of years. If logic & reason is to much to ask for what about the tooth fairy?
March 13th, 2009 at 14:41
I don’t imagine it will disappear, just wane. Humans seem wired to have a “spirit” button, and relatively few people have a button that can be pushed by logic/reason/naturalism. Sure the church might fade a little, but will probably keep a relatively strong presence. I would predict that most people leaving the church will leave it for some kind of new-age fru-fru rather than outright atheism.
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