Shadowy Man

See:

Scottyman

Response to braces_for_impact

Well you bring up important points regarding the absurdity of religion. I would imagine that a religious person would say that "god" works in his/her/its own way on different worlds around the galaxy. What would hold true for one planet would not for another. Remember, "god" is omnipotent and omnipresent so he/she/it might reveal him/her/itself to other beings in different ways and Mecca here would be something completely different somewhere else. What would be interesting is if the "god" of another race on anther planet was the same murdurous, coniving, jealous, pathetic lunatic that he/she/it is on our own world.

braces_for_impact

Considering that, if alien life exists, I see no real reason why it wold be more enlightened than we, I would expect their god to be a viscious war-like monster too.

Unless of course, they simply evolved into self aware creatures while we were still in a slime pond, in which case they may be more socially advanced and would scoff at the funny earthlings and their imaginary deities.

Amos

Have you noticed that your post did not get many responses?

If the wide-eyed scientists of this board would take a close look at American society today they would soon realize that the increasing services of fertility clinics should be a cause for alarm.

It just takes a little longer for large civilizations to fall and even as it stands today the population of N.America is declining and must be supported by imports from other civilizations.

Starboy

Especially when you take into account the progress that Christians are making towards stopping all abortions and birth control world wide.

Starboy

long winded fool

The population of North America is declining?? I'm assuming you mean in quality and not quantity?

pilaar

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long winded fool:
There have always been scientific explanations for various "supernatural" things and there have always been rational skeptics in every civilization. When the people of past civilizations start ignoring their priests or shamans or medicine men and start "seeing the light" of the logical, anti-religious skeptics and atheistic scientists, the civilization has always invariably collapsed.
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Never heard of this one before. Which civilization had a number large numbers of skeptics & atheists and then collapsed?

Ab_Normal

I live in an area of about 200,000 population, and I just looked in the yellow pages and found 10 pages of ads for churches. Seems like there's plenty of organized religion left, at least in my part of the US.

long winded fool

Hmm. Good question. But assuming that during the collapse of any organized religion there are more non-believers than there are believers (the definition of religious collapse I'd think,) then logically religious skeptics always outnumber the believers during the last days of a particular religion. There have always been atheists, but never atheistic (or perhaps non-religious is a better term) civilizations. As a matter of history, the wide-scale abandonment of religion is equivalent to the abandonment of society. The death of religion is not a prerequisite to the death of a civilization, but death of the civilization, so far, is a necessary outcome of death of religion.

In answer to your question, any civilization which underwent religious collapse and then collapsed itself is a civilization with a large number (majority) of "skeptics and atheists" (by which I mean those against the previously accepted religious dogma) which subsequently collapsed. I'm pressed for time otherwise I'd provide references and examples. (I'd think both would be unneccessary as long as my logic is sound.) Incidentally, you giving an example of a non-religious civilization would immediatly prove me wrong and save us both the time.

beyelzu

long winded fool,

just because someone quits believing is say bunari doesnt mean that they didnt start believing in somehting else. why are you assuming that they become atheists?

maybe its not possible to cite a purely secular society cuz one has never before existed as in the op. so if we are headed to a completely secular society maybe it will be the first.

so if you want to prove that civilizations become less religious right before they decline, i would love to see proof on that. and evidence is needed cuz you are arguing that something occurred with relationship to a cultural trend. this should be verifiable with evidence.