To think religion will play less of a role in 21st century?

[sockatoe]

AIBU to think as society and the human race evolves, there is less need for organised religion? Are we moving towards a less religious society?
We can explain the world around us with science
We have laws to outline acceptable and unacceptable behaviour without the threat of eternal damnation as a consequence of not conforming
We have access to healthcare without going through a religious organisation
People are able to be "spiritual" and self aware without a God figure
People socialise and support one another and charity through means other than religion.

Obviously, many horrific and inhuman acts have and continue to be made in the name of religion. Also, many amazing, heroic and kind acts take place in the name of religion too.
AIBU to think that the majority of people are good, kind and helpful and they outnumber the rest? And that as time goes on, the human race will simply cooperate with one another because that's what you do, without outpouring love and obedience to a God figure who may or may not cast you into eternal damnation if you don't serve them well enough?

there is less need for organised religion
One presumes so.
Ditto, men, who seem to run 'religions'.

Men are never 'organised' but assume they own the manor.
Men could, however, be kept in zoos, for a side aspect of anthropology study though?
Or just for a laugh?

No, you’re supposed to use your brain.

No, you’re supposed to use your brain.

This!

(But cut out the Bible. And god.)

Religion is the Opium of the Mens.

(the mens were pretty moronic in the first place)

Sadly I think it will always be around. A certain type of person will always feel the need to blindly follow a group/sect/cult. And a religious family/community can brainwash the children so completely they believe it as well. Its utter nonsense. If a baby was taken away and raised on an Island with no media by people who never mentioned religion they would not believe but that obviously cannot happen. Look at the FLDS or Amish, they would not exist without a great spin doctor and isolation.

If a baby was taken away and raised on an Island with no media by people who never mentioned religion they would not believe

There's a good chance that she would. It seems to be part of the way our psychology has evolved to look for causal explanations for what we observe. This baby would start thinking about why the sun comes up, or what the stars are or how the trees got there. In the absence of education (or genius) she would come up with similarly inaccurate theories to the ones which are the bases of religion.

Of course many of our gods were ancient alien astronauts.

Alien Astronaut Theorists say "yes"

I watch Ancient Aliens regularly - even religiously. It's worth watching a couple of episodes.

Organized religion, I can see the possibility though I don't think it's one of the more likely ones. I don't get the logic given in the original post as why it would be.

Progress has not ever been a straight line - societies can and have regressed many times through history, evolution does not give a flying fuck about reaching any sort of logical equal society for humans - see many fucked up animal societies even without religion, and there have been plenty of scandals in science within this century already. Look at how many well-respected scientific peer-reviewed journals have been fooled across different disciplines in the last couple of decades, and that's just the fakes we know about. Even the so-called 'pure subjects' like maths and physics have had peer-reviewed paper scandals. Honestly, I think academia needs a major shake-up if we're going to make much progress in many fields and I kinda think the recent ideal put out by many that if there is a study, it must be true is very damaging. Science is human-made observations and deductions, it's bound by our limitations and ability to fuck things up.

There are plenty of dangerous ideologies besides religious ones. While I agree it is difficult to say any of the horrors were done purely for atheism, atheistic utopias fueled more than a few ideological horrors even today. If we use religion as the scapegoat for all these ills, we miss the other dangerous ideologies out there that either doesn't have a religion or are actively anti-religion. Plenty of dangerous ideologies include these elements, but edgelord atheists want to ignore that because they pin their whole worldview on how religion is the root of all evil and opiate of the masses. Religions are worldviews and ideologies like any other, pretty much all of them can be twisted to control and horrors when people with enough power want to do so.

In high level atheist societies population is declining

Probably, but that doesn't mean it's declining because of atheism. Atheism seems to be more prevalent in developed, affluent and educated societies. The desire to limit reproduction is also linked to such societies. Both things seem to be 'caused' by living in such societies. Atheism doesn't 'cause' people to not have children.

Atheists have less children that’s all that matters in the end regardless of what causes it. The lifestyle and belief system of the abrahamic faiths favours human reproduction.

I always laugh slightly when vehement atheists post about violence in the name of religion, conveniently ignoring the atrocities carried out by atheists like Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot...

Try to understand the difference between simply being an atheist and actively doing something in the name of atheism.

If you think Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot acted in the name of atheism, you need to start educating yourself and quickly.

Do that before you “laugh” (or pretend to) would be my advice.

Atheists have fewer children - is there actually any evidence to support that?

My husband has memories of being in utero. (He is autistic and it is likely linked to this.) He remembers being aware of the presence of God even when he wasn't old enough to understand at all who God was.

I hope so. I despise religion

This is from a Washington Post article, quoting Pew Research data:

...the average Mormon can expect to make 3.4 babies in his or her lifetime. Jews, Catholics, and most flavors of Protestantism have fertility rates ranging from 2 to 2.5. At the low end of the baby-making spectrum you've got atheists, with 1.6 kids, and agnostics, who average only 1.3.

So the only way of being more of a Darwinian loser than an atheist is by being a dithery agnostic!

Of course organised religion is dying. In the US, atheism is the fastest growing religion-associated group.

Brainwashing of children kept the myths going, but that’s becoming less and less effective given the amount of information available at everyone’s fingertips now.

The Jesus story (for example) is shown up for the arrant nonsense it so clearly is with just a few sentences from a rationalist. Continuing to believe in the face of such an immense wealth of scientific data about how the universe works & how we got here takes a great deal of wilful ignorance, and fewer and fewer young people are willing to climb aboard.

Fundamentalism may be growing but as the “SEE? SEE? I’M NOT A RACIST, EVERYONE” MN types are always desperate to inform us, fundamentalism has nothing to do with religion, which simply provides a handy springboard for them to launch from.

In a century, very few people will actively believe in any god. And the planet will be better for it. Superstition & irrational thinking is causing harm (anti-vaxxers & climate change deniers, for exampke) and we need to be done with it. Religion is cloaked in respectability because it’s so familiar to us...but it’s irrational thinking with nothing more to commend it than any other unevidenced, unsupported world view.

Google ‘Do Atheists have fewer children?’ There has actually been some research into this.
I find it quite funny really.

I'm autistic, and know lots of people who are. AFAIK none of us remember 'the presence of god' in the womb. Not sure what the link between that and autism is.

If you make a sweeping statement at least present some evidence. Citing the Washington Post or saying google it isn’t good enough.

My husband has memories of being in utero. (He is autistic and it is likely linked to this.) He remembers being aware of the presence of God even when he wasn't old enough to understand at all who God was.

My mother hears voices that come to her from the furniture. Neither of these things prove anything!

Atheism by definition does not have an agenda. In each case the conflicts were motivated by politics or some other ideology.

As, of course were a lot of supposedly 'religious' wars. Sadly, people like fighting each other.

"My husband has memories of being in utero. (He is autistic and it is likely linked to this.) He remembers being aware of the presence of God even when he wasn't old enough to understand at all who God was."

All of that is quite funny And it's fascinating that you actually believe it.

Teddybear - India is largely Hindu/Sikh/Jain , very few Muslims whereas Pakistan is mainly Muslim. This followed partition by the British after Indian Independence.

"Spiritually is an inherent part of the psyche for a huge proportion of the human race and always has been."

Since it's not an inherent part of ALL humans' psyches, it's not a human trait at all.

So what you are saying could very well be the result of a large portion of human race being indoctrinated from an early age, or simply too dumb to question the nonsense they are told.

If that is the case, it is no surprise that religion's influence has steadily been decreasing in line with better communication and education around the world.

www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/