Some 3,500 years ago, the first vision of one supreme God was formed on the territory of modern Iran. A thousand years later, the world’s first great religion of Zoroastrianism became the official faith in Persian Empire. After the latter’s collapse, the local people converted to Islam, the faith of their conquerors. And this is only one example that proves that nothing in this world lasts forever. Religion and religious beliefs don’t make an exception here.
Religions appear, grow and die. It has always been like this. But people have become more skeptical these days. When someone tries to start a new religion, it is immediately viewed as a cult. When we recognize a faith, we treat its principles as timeless and sacrosanct. And when religion dies, it becomes a piece of history filled with myths. Just look at the religious traditions of the Egyptian, Greek, and Norse pantheons. We often take them as legends, not holy writings.
Religious Beliefs These Days
Today’s dominant religions have undergone numerous transformations throughout history. Those, who think that their faith has arrived asthe ultimate truth, might refuse to accept any changes at all. History has proved itself as the best guide for people. No matter how deeply we believe in something today, we might accept some new ideas later on.
Religions have changed dramatically in the past. So they will most likely continue going through certain transformations in the future. How might they change in the future? Is there any substance to the claim that belief in gods will die out at one point? Could totally new forms of worship emerge?
Religious Beliefs in the Future
A shared faith addresses the needs of society. We all have heard its definition as the “opium of the masses”, namely the power to control the poor. In the future, its purpose doesn’t seem to change. It will be used as a method of bringing together a community. But what if there is no future for religion? What if there is no heaven and hell? Some intellectual and political currents have contributed to this perception. Sociologists explain that the march of science is causing the “disenchantment” of society. Supernatural answers to serious world questions don’t need answers anymore. In a matter of time, religious believers are likely to be found in small communities only, huddled together to stand against a worldwide secular culture.
Is the End of Religions Close?
Religion will not disappear on a global scale, at least, this won’t happen in the nearest future. According to the research published by the Pew Research Center, the future of the world’s great religions is about to have some more rises. A modest increase in believers from 84% to 87% will take place in 2050. Muslims will most likely grow in number to match Christians, while the proportion of other religious believers will slightly decline.
What does “no religion” mean? Who are the people positioning themselves as “nones”? This is a category of people that happen to be disinterested in organized religion. They can’t be viewed as atheists though. They do construct faiths of their own. What stands behind these self-directed religions? One approach is syncretism, the “pick and mix” strategy of combining traditions and practices that ends up in the mix of cultures. Many religions have syncretistic elements, which are assimilated and become unremarkable as time passes. Interestingly, festivals like Christmas and Easter feature archaic pagan elements, and daily routines for many Chinese people take their origins from Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The different kinds of connections are easy to see in relatively young religions, such as Vodoun or Rastafarianism.
New Religions
New religious movements often rely on older religions. Some of them become the continuation of old religious traditions and rituals. However, their recognition may turn into a complex issue due to the missing definition of religion. This often causes a lot of skepticism about practitioners’ motives. Whenever someone tells you their worldview, we have to take them at face value. Isn’t it ridiculous? Well, this kind of freedom is exactly what the founders of some new religious movements want. An official status seems to be irrelevant if you can win thousands or even millions of followers for your own benefit.
Who knows, maybe religions will never die. The next great faith might take over the world very soon.