According to the BBC article “Will Religion Ever Disappear?” dated 19 December 2014, by Rachel Nuwer, it is clear that the rate of atheism around the world is on the rise. This prompts the author to examine if, in the future, spirituality will be a thing of the past. From the article, it is clear that no one can definitively tell about life after death, though the majority believe that life ends after death. Another group believes that God does not exist and that there is no afterlife nor a divine plan. The views expressed in the article separate state and religion.
It is clear that secularism is also spreading all over the world through some ancient Greeks and Romans who had spread their beliefs about religion all over the world. Many countries lack a defined state religion since they appreciate that their citizens have different religious practices. For example, in India, a majority of the population are Buddhists, while the same country has Catholics, Protestants, and even Muslims. This makes India observe many religious holidays by setting aside some days for them.
Since religion was started, it has always held the role or the status as the foundation for law as well as all other legality. It contains laws that followers should abide by, and failure to do so attracts reproach of the guilty person by those decreed by the specific religion. Thus, every society should follow the rules (s) that are laid down for all followers. Religion encompasses the full life of a person from birth to the day of demise. It is absolute and a decree from the Almighty, who is omnipresent (Aslan & Allen-Ebrahimian, 2017). According to the Gallup International Survey, out of 50,000 people from 57 countries, the religious people percentage fell from 77% to 68% between the years 2005 and 2011 as those proclaimed atheists shot by 3%, and consequently, the number of non-believers rose to 13% ( Nuwer, 2018).
On the other hand, atheists refute that God exists, that the universe is not beautiful and orderly, and that someone must have designed it. They say these to counter the argument on the creation theory in the Old Testament, in religious books that argue that it is God who created the universe. They further add that modern science indicates that the majority of the natural things theists believe were created by God are actually products of processes such as evolution. Additionally, atheists continue to insinuate that while most religions believe that God is good and has everything in check as a powerful maker, the world is full of evil and wickedness ( Mininni et al., 2016). They argue that he would be taking care of the evil by preventing it from happening if, indeed, he is powerful.
For example, Europe, which was widely a Roman Christian continent owing to the Roman conquerors who lived in the Dark and Middle Ages, had been influenced by the leaders she had in the area. Religion could have positioned the church even above the ruling Monarchs. A case in mind is King Richard the Lion Heart of England, who was a staunch catholic and a leader. Leadership and Religion were somehow inseparable. Religious rules have existed for a long time because religion is there, and willing followers are there, too. From the time of its emergence and evolution, it has managed to move from animism to polytheism and the monotheism that is now happening. All religions have a commonality, which allows for the belief in a powerful deity that religious rules are founded. The rules can sometimes work toward the advantage of society and, at times, work to its detriment. An example is in India, where a widow is sacrificed at her dead husband’s funeral or the sudden end of her social life since she is considered a bad omen (Figel’, J. (2017).
In my opinion, these are bad practices since they require society. To either eliminate widows from society or cut them off from the social systems, making them live without anyone’s support, demanding they dress in white garments and live only by selling their bodies to get food to feed themselves, are all wrong ideas. Other religions have had unpleasant practices to the point of allowing incest, like the Egyptians, Japanese, and royal families of Chinese families back in ancient times. These depict different religious practices all over the world, just as the article points out.
Moreover, the article indicates atheism is on the rise, especially in communist states. While some states have more than one religion, this might be a problem when it comes to creating religious laws. However, the majority of people have rejected the idea of God as a Supreme Being, aligning religion as synonymous with societal suffering (Beyers, 2017). It is clear that people’s suffering, especially the poor, in the hands of religion has played a part in atheism acceptance, especially among most Europeans. Nonetheless, the states exercising one religion and are non-secular are orderly and relatively calmer societies. An example is the Middle Eastern states that practice Islam religion and the Quran teachings as their law. Despite the crisis in the Middle East, some countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are thriving in an orderly, peaceful, socially, and economically stable way.
Modernity and secularism in the contemporary world have contributed to moral degradation that was previously highly valued. For instance, in the modern world, people openly engage in sexual relationships when their parents are in full knowledge and other people in the society as well. This cannot be compared with the non-secular old societies, which frowned upon such practices (Wellman & Corcoran, 2013). From a religious point of view, fornication and adultery are a sin all over the world. In my opinion, secularism is not a bad idea when practiced in the right way. Manipulation of religious reading to fit the needs of people is very wrong. This explains why there is a crisis of faith in many places like the UK, Canada, the Czech Republic, and Estonia, among other nations where religion was vital a century ago (Beyers, 2017). We should all exercise religious tolerance so that religion gets to stay, whether it will be via love or fear. After all, even if we shun Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and all others, superstitions, as well as spiritualism, shall prevail. In addition, human beings feel comforted during grief and will want to believe that there is something else after this life; hence, believers will remain the majority.
References
Aslan, R., & Allen-Ebrahimian, B. (2017). Religion Vs. Culture. Foreign Policy, (225), 112.
Beyers, J. (2017). Religion and culture: Revisiting a close relative. Hervormde Teologiese Studies, 73(1), 1-9.
Figel’, J. (2017). The European Union and Freedom of Religion or Belief: A New Momentum. Brigham Young University Law Review, 2017(4), 895-899.
Manuti, A., Scardigno, R., & Mininni, G. (2016). Me, myself, and God: Religion as a psychocultural resource of meaning in later life. Culture & Psychology, 22(1), 3-34.
Nuwer, R. (2018). Will religion ever disappear?. Bbc.com. Retrieved 18 April 2018, from
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141219-will-religion-ever-disappearWill religion ever
Wellman, J. K., & Corcoran, K. E. (2013). Religion and Regional Culture: Embedding Religious Commitment within Place. Sociology Of Religion, 74(4), 496-520.Disappearr? Atheism is on the rise around the world, so does that mean spirituality will soon be a thing of the past? Rachel Nuwer investigates. www.bbc.com
