I think that current British irreligion is a fad, and will likely pass. It is likely that Europe will be more religiously diverse from here on, than it was in previous centuries, but I do not expect that Christianity will die out.


The fact is that Christianity's message of guilt, forgiveness and redemption is psychologically powerful, and appeals to many people.

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Grassaf, Eolas

A good friend of mine is a Parsee and he shared with me that he felt the Zoroastrian religion was dying out as it is not easy to convert to and you really have to be Zoroastrian from birth.. also there are restrictions in marrying non-Zoroastrians. Also the Dalai Lama made the comment in one of his presentations a few years ago that he believed Buddhism was a "dying religion"...

- Art

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"it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."
- Johannes Kepler

Parsees are opposed to conversion, although this is much less a religious issue than it is one that traces its roots back to a bad decision by a British judge in the 1920s (as I recall). Even in India prior to that time it wasn't true that you couldn't convert; lots of children who grew up in Zoroastrian households (as servants or dependents) were converted. And in-marrying certainly occurred.

Among Irani Zoroastrians there has never been a ban on conversion, although it was legally difficult since Iran had become Muslim, and apostasy from Islam was punishable by death.

In the US, the Zarathustrian Assembly has accepted many thousands of converts, although I find thier brand of "protestanitized" Zoroastrianism rather too psychological and metaphorical, and removed from everyday life.

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Grassaf, Eolas

Nothing "dies out". Everything evolves, including spirituality. What lies ahead on our collective spiritual path is our return to at-one-ment, or, our awareness of, that we have never been anything but One with God. This coming global spiritual consciousness will set the stage for our next phase of physical manifestation, where unconditional love will be the accepted behavior as we learn to see God in everything and everyone.

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Only Love Prevails,
Don

Biggest problem with Christianity is that it is not able to settle several issues eg. social ,economic,spiritual or physical.
A perfect religion is the one which should fullfill your spiritual,social and physical needs and Islam is the only religion which has proved that.
Islam is not just a religion but it is more than a religion ,it is a complete way of life. Islam doesnot only fullfill your spiritual requirements but also guides you in social,ordinance,economic,battles and other matters.

Qur'an is a Holy Book which is a source of guidance for entire mankind till the Day of Judgment.

The Laws mentioned in the Qur'an are based on sound and reasoning the concept of taxation in Islam is quiet different from the concept of taxation introduced by Western world.


The law established by Hazrat Umar(Ra) the 2nd Caliph of Islam during his rule or leadership was purely based on the teachings of Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) and historians have admitted that such rule and leadership never ever existed in the world.

History testifies to the fact that during the rule of Hazrat Umar(Ra),the regulation of wealth was so balanced that not even a single person living under his rule was poor . When people use to come out of there houses to pay Zakat(tax) to poors or needy, they use to return full handed and use to complain to Hazrat Umar(Ra) that they didnot find even a single poor person.

It was the best period in the history of mankind and even Gandhi the great Indian patriot and Leader stated that his country cannot improve unless and until they get a leader like Umar.


Islamic Laws and concepts bring positive results, and its results are the biggest evidence that Islam is not just a religion but more than a religion.

Christianity according to our belief is not the true religion ever preached by
Jesus(pbuh) ,neither we believe in the doctrine of trinity because there
are several logical and sound questions that crash the concept of trinity
and make it baseless.

Regards,

If it does, I wouldn't want to see it die out because people become disenchanted, disinterested or discouraged but because they received the Truth (or Untruth) to the answers. Any person who has believing for as long as Christians have deserve this kind of closure.

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"There is one thing that organized religion is not qualified to teach and that is an individual's purpose."-GOD

But isn't that how it has always been done -- one religion is replaced (no, not replaced, but I'll talk about that later) by another after some new "revelation of Truth." Christ was a Torah-observant Jew, with a few moderately radical, Pharisaic views -- but it took Saul of Tarsus to have a revelation of something quite different for Christianity to really get going. It took a misunderstanding of the "truth" of how the Trinity works (does the Son "proceed" from the Father, or not) to create the Orthodox Church. It took a new understanding of the "truth" about what the Church was established by Christ to actually do that lead to Protestantism, or a revelation to Mohammad to create Islam, or Joseph Smith and his "revelation" through golden plates, reformed Egyptian and seer stones to give us Mormonism.

But notice, that the birth of Christianity didn't supplant the Jews. They're still here. Note, also, that the Orthodox Church has not replaced the Catholic, nor has the Protestant faith, nor has Mormonism. Even Islam has not replaced Christianity or Judaism (although it seems to be trying hard). They're all going strong. Religions don't replace older ones, they are simply added to the mix. This is true of the evolution of species, too. As new species evolve to adapt to local conditions, members without the evolved traits might still continue in their original environment. Over time, you can wind up with multiple branches from the same root.

And it is also true that some of those branches eventually die out, as some religions have died out. And at some point, even the root stock may die out, leaving only branches -- which now become their own root stock.

Christianity might well die out, though perhaps not until humans have evolved into something we wouldn't even recognize as humans today (or when humans have annihilated themselves -- that would do it, too).

But religion? No, I doubt if that will die out just so long as there are questions that cannot be answered about the purpose for life, what is good and bad, why things happen, and what happens when we die. And do you know what? Those questions will never be answered because there are no answers.

And therefore, there will always be religion. Because it is in the nature of human thinking that, when there are no possible answers, we make some up.

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.

I think we're evolving, and there's every reason (as some have stated) that our spiritual understanding evolves as well. When we're ready (as individuals and as a species), we take the next step, and the next, and the next.

Just to mention: I loved your post, Don!

I agree AngelEyes!!!

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RevKathyV

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