Future of Christianity vs. Atheism in developed countries?

[RainDog]

Question: What is the trend?

1. Evolution of science will eventually lead to only a small fringe of Christians in the population (Ignore the possibility of an event in which science discovers some form of "God").

2. Christian structures now inherent in society will stagnate Atheist development or even reduce it.

For the purpose of this argument, define Atheism to include Agnosticism or any "religion" in which a particular deity or concrete system of belief is not established.

Also, stick to forms of Christianity in your arguments, as some religions (ie. Buddhism) aren't likely going to be as antagonistic to Atheism as others.

Not only is this a question of whether or not more or less people are going to be raised into said position, but which has a higher rate of conversion (born-again Christians vs. those giving up Christianity).

3. Now if the trend is towards Atheism, at some point could the conflict between the Christianity and Atheism give way to the sort of violence that Christianity experiences in conflict with other religions?

[mbillie1]

Unfortunately religion isn't going to go away. The conflict will probably just escalate between Christianity and Islam.

[madnak]

I suppose I'm going to have to go with #1, because I think science will annihilate fundamentalist Christianity. I think atheism will spread due to better communication and economic prosperity, among other things. But I can't rule out the less severe sets of belief, or even Biblical systems - I do think such systems will be far less dogmatic in the future.

I think the idea of violent suppression of religion is unrealistic. Western values have too much of a chokehold, and I think most intelligent people would prefer to avoid violence on principle. I also don't think they'll generally feel threatened. And atheism doesn't really lend itself to wide-scale organization. Soviet Russia was an anomaly if you ask me, and its legacy will only remind us that atheism with violence is no better than religion with violence.

[abridge]

I'll go with 1) also here for similar reasons:

I’ve heard that IQ levels rise over time - I don’t have a source for this, so please critique if this is inaccurate. I’m not sure what the best correlations are to draw here, but this is a key factor for a number of reasons:
Higher IQ generally tends towards:
- Ability to adapt
- Higher likelihood of being peaceful
- Ability to problem solve (which probably incorporates the above two inherently)

So, as madnak noted, I think we're heading towards overcoming the violent suppression and into a stronger global community - one without religion.



On a different note:
One notion that's been suggested here and elsewhere is the inherent need within individuals to latch onto some leap of faith - a belief in something "higher" than oneself. Some Christians may share the same views as athiests but be unable to take the final jump into declaring "god is dead" - or however you'd like to put that.

I could see mankind, on the whole, evolving past this need for irrational faith in the unknown. This seems to be a rising trend in humanity, at least. Ultimately there won't be a widespread need for Christianity in developed countries.

[abridge]

[ QUOTE ]
2. Christian structures now inherent in society will stagnate Atheist development or even reduce it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rising education and science institutions are gaining validity in the US. More and more students attend university each year and are exposed to a wider range of beliefs, a more diverse student population, and access to information quickly.

This environment, which is supported by the majority of Americans, IMO, nullifies Christianity's tendancy to "stagnate Atheist development or even reduce it."

Now, more than any other time in history, the environment for Atheism is flourishing.

[TimWillTell]

It could take even more then a thousand years for the current religions to become ancient like the Greek Gods on the Olympic.
But they will become ancient.
When?
When humanity has come up with a better concept to form large nations.