Imagine a world without religion?

[Kendodd]

Not that it never existed, just that people didn't believe in it now. No forced bans on religion, people just stopped believing on their own. So we could still look back at the culture artifacts and traditions. We could still keep and celebrate the festivals and traditions, only the good ones though.
I don't think this would suddenly lead to world peace btw. Its just one less thing to hate each other for though.

Humanism is not a 'belief' system- and stands exactly for what you describe.

Religion isn’t the actual reason for all the atrocities done in the name of religion- those people would have found a way to find reasoning to think themselves superior to other people. Religion gives me comfort and a sense of community. It served my dad (one of the nicest most compassionate, most lovely people) through Lung cancer to his death.

I'm an atheist.

Religion can be very important for creating community and organising society. It's the few renegades who spoil it for everyone else.

Mmm, like Russia, Albania or North Korea?

That would be a good start.

And what would happen to all the wealth, property and estates belonging to the various churches?

Would there be demands for compensation made by those damaged, in their mind, by religion - those indoctrinated into a belief system, those circumcised, those educated in faith schools? Would there were a redistribution of wealth? 😂

Ok fair enough if I don’t know much about it, but I once heard of someone going to a humanist wedding. I guess that’s what made me view it as more of a organised belief system, as why not just have a non-religious civil ceremony?

it is non religious!

Roughly speaking, the word humanist has come to mean someone who:

• trusts to the scientific method when it comes to understanding how the universe works and rejects the idea of the supernatural (and is therefore an atheist or agnostic)
• makes their ethical decisions based on reason, empathy, and a concern for human beings and other sentient animals
• believes that, in the absence of an afterlife and any discernible purpose to the universe, human beings can act to give their own lives meaning by seeking happiness in this life and helping others to do the same.

I know, I was referring it to being an organised belief system. Hence why I said why have a ‘humanist’ wedding and not just a non-religious civil ceremony. If it’s not a belief system, why the distinction?

Well, Russia is pretty much under the sway of the Russian orthodox Church, and North Korea is a massive cult of personality, with the Kim family having magical powers ascribed to them - not very secular, really. I don't know enough about Albania, just that Enver Hoxha was a horrific dictator.

The ancient Greeks had many gods. Now some people believe there’s only one.
They’re getting nearer to the truth all the time.

An interesting question. Many of us are members of the Humanist movement- because we are social animals after all, even if not religious. Being part of a movement means we can join together for all sorts of activities, social and political, and also lobby. For instance for the right of access to non religious schools in so many villages and parts of towns, for our children to be educated without any form on 'indoctrination'. And many other issues.

I am a member of this organisation

humanist.org.uk

Hmm..it's very easy to speculate on how such a world might look from present day Europe.

Remember that Christianity was a great civilising influence when it arrived in the British Isles. Previously, the Celts, Saxons and particularly the Vikings were a barbarous bunch who would kill and rape pretty much for fun.

Christianity provided a simple set of rules that even the illiterate could follow - love thy neighbour, do not covet thy neighbour's wife etc. all of which seems bizarre now, but was a big deal at the time. I do wonder how long it would be before people regressed to default mode in the absence of religion. I'm not encouraged by the behaviour of some.

'Remember that Christianity was a great civilising influence when it arrived in the British Isles. Previously, the Celts, Saxons and particularly the Vikings were a barbarous bunch who would kill and rape pretty much for fun.

Christianity provided a simple set of rules that even the illiterate could follow - love thy neighbour, do not covet thy neighbour's wife etc.'

oh my, where do I start on this ? Perhaps the Crusades! And all the colonies.

Remember that Christianity was a great civilising influence when it arrived in the British Isles. Previously, the Celts, Saxons and particularly the Vikings were a barbarous bunch who would kill and rape pretty much for fun.

How to tell the world you know nothing about early history and cultures...

It's easy if you try.....,

An interesting thought.
Humans like rituals though so I think something would replace it and become somewhat a religion itself.
Otherwise, what do we have? The same thing every day? Work, unwind, bed.

We already have lots of non religious rituals though. Civil wedding ceremony, funerals baby naming, prom, even birthday parties etc. We also have non religious festivals. I would argue that Christmas, Halloween and even Easter are non religious. I think they're better for it as well as everyone is welcome, not just members of that particular club.

Exactly this. People wouldn't magically become lovely and kind to everyone just because there was no religion.

It would be nice to not have people arguing uselessly over doctrine though

IMO people would soon find another reason to fight each other - territory, availability of food or water. Look at colonies of e.g. chimpanzees, they soon see off ‘invaders’ who fancy raiding their fruit trees.

I have a theory that religion started with the very earliest humans who had speech - and rainbows. Of course there must be some very powerful invisible Being who produced such a thing as a rainbow! Not to mention violent storms and epidemics! We’d better try to appease him/her somehow - fruit, flowers, or perhaps sacrifice a goat or a virgin or two?

@Kendodd but those are all things rooted in religion. So, the state will then sanction and validate these rituals.
It'll make no difference as ya all about controlling the people anyway. Control through religion or state.
Wars will still carry on if the state wants it. People will still be controlled. They'll still align with their tribe.

If you read the book Sapiens, the writer describes something called a 'cognitive revolution'. It's when early human suddenly got clever. Some put this down to the birth of religion. I can completely understand this theory as it would also be the birth of imagination.

I agree, as I've said in the OP, I don't believe that would be the end of wars. It would be one less thing to fight about though. Or rather pretend to fight about, scratch the surface of any war and its all about money. But, no religion, might mean no ISIS... maybe.