Friday, September 14, 2007

Religion Will Never Die Out

I once read an estimate that there have been over 100,000 religions come and gone since the caves of France and Spain were painted during the Upper Paleolithic. The religious impulse seems to be a constant of human nature, albeit it has taken many forms over the ages. I do not expect religion itself to die out – ever. But new religions will replace old ones.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

To paraphrase Ayn Rand, religion is nothing but primitive philosophy. As long as man yearns for meaning in life, he will always come up with some philosophy, religion, or something else!

Paul Sunstone said...

Hi Mahendra! Ayn Rand's point is intriguing, but I tend to think that religion is to some extent inherent in our genetic make-up. We are in some ways "programmed" to be religious. I believe that's why relatively few people are non-religious. It takes much more effort to oppose the human disposition to religiosity than it does to go along with it.