Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Kuu · 10-04-2002, 03:20 PM

Do you think that some form of religion would eventually turn up?

MadMordigan · 10-04-2002, 03:28 PM

That would be the least of our worries. How would you keep the anarchists from blowing the shit out of stuff or the libertarians from cutting off the water supply?

Yggdrasill · 10-04-2002, 03:32 PM

If the colony was as scientifically advanced as the rest of the world is right now, I don't think a religion would turn up. Because all the tricky questions would be answered by science.

Eudaimonist · 10-04-2002, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MadMordigan:
That would be the least of our worries. How would you keep the anarchists from blowing the shit out of stuff or the libertarians from cutting off the water supply?

Yeah, I've always wanted to cut off the water supply. Take that, water supply!

Sephiroth · 10-04-2002, 08:26 PM

If this colony has the same level of technology as the West and remains isolated then an organized religion probably won't turn up. There probably would be some theistic agnostics and Deists though.

[ October 04, 2002: Message edited by: Sephiroth ]

K · 10-04-2002, 09:18 PM

I can't say whether or not a religion would eventually develop. I do know that if one did, it wouldn't look anything at like the Abrahamic religions. They aren't intuitive from observing nature. You have to be told about them.

Straight Hate · 10-04-2002, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kuu:
Do you think that some form of religion would eventually turn up?

Not to undermine your question, but I don't believe an accurate projection can be created by just a single variable.

Born Free · 10-05-2002, 03:42 AM

I'd kind of like to think one would in a perverse sort of way, just think how boring life would be if we had nobody to argue about religion with???

Perchance · 10-05-2002, 06:16 AM

If we're talking about a group of people who just happened to be atheists living in totally isolated conditions...

Well, I was going to make a hypothesis, but I suppose it would still depend on where the colony came from.

a) If it was just a group of people living out in the wild, the same as, say, the original human tribes, I think they'd have to have really advanced science of their own to keep from infusing everything with magical explanations.

b) A group of "escaped" first-generation atheists would probably tell their children about leaving religion, so that the children would understand the danger.

c) If somehow a colony managed to form with the requisite science but without being composed of first-generation atheists, then wouldn't they be the same kind of atheists that very young children are? (I think that George Smith calls them "implicit atheists.") They might not have any religion, but if a missionary ever found them, they might be susceptible.

(I just noticed that I've been talking about religion as if it were a disease...)

-Perchance.

[ October 05, 2002: Message edited by: Perchance ]

Kuu · 10-05-2002, 01:07 PM

I was really thinking about a group of atheists who been isolated for whatever reason. Maybe a space colony or a disaster on Earth that they alone survived. I would also add that as a result of that isolation they would have no access to our literature that mentions God.

I was also thinking of what would occur in generations to come. 500, 1000 years down the track do you think religions would have risen again?

10-04-2002, 03:20 PM	#1
Kuu Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tasmania Posts: 710	If an atheist colony was to form isolated from the rest of Mankind Do you think that some form of religion would eventually turn up?

10-04-2002, 08:26 PM	#5
Sephiroth Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 625	If this colony has the same level of technology as the West and remains isolated then an organized religion probably won't turn up. There probably would be some theistic agnostics and Deists though. [ October 04, 2002: Message edited by: Sephiroth ]</p>

10-05-2002, 06:16 AM	#9
Perchance Veteran Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Kentucky Posts: 1,059	If we're talking about a group of people who just happened to be atheists living in totally isolated conditions... Well, I was going to make a hypothesis, but I suppose it would still depend on where the colony came from. a) If it was just a group of people living out in the wild, the same as, say, the original human tribes, I think they'd have to have really advanced science of their own to keep from infusing everything with magical explanations. b) A group of "escaped" first-generation atheists would probably tell their children about leaving religion, so that the children would understand the danger. c) If somehow a colony managed to form with the requisite science but without being composed of first-generation atheists, then wouldn't they be the same kind of atheists that very young children are? (I think that George Smith calls them "implicit atheists.") They might not have any religion, but if a missionary ever found them, they might be susceptible. (I just noticed that I've been talking about religion as if it were a disease...) -Perchance. [ October 05, 2002: Message edited by: Perchance ]</p>

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10-04-2002, 03:28 PM	#2
MadMordigan Beloved Deceased Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 2,704	That would be the least of our worries. How would you keep the anarchists from blowing the shit out of stuff or the libertarians from cutting off the water supply?

10-04-2002, 03:32 PM	#3
Yggdrasill Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kongsberg, Norway. I'm a: Skeptic Posts: 7,597	If the colony was as scientifically advanced as the rest of the world is right now, I don't think a religion would turn up. Because all the tricky questions would be answered by science.

10-04-2002, 09:18 PM	#6
K Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,485	I can't say whether or not a religion would eventually develop. I do know that if one did, it wouldn't look anything at like the Abrahamic religions. They aren't intuitive from observing nature. You have to be told about them.

10-05-2002, 03:42 AM	#8
Born Free Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,177	I'd kind of like to think one would in a perverse sort of way, just think how boring life would be if we had nobody to argue about religion with???

10-05-2002, 01:07 PM	#10
Kuu Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tasmania Posts: 710	I was really thinking about a group of atheists who been isolated for whatever reason. Maybe a space colony or a disaster on Earth that they alone survived. I would also add that as a result of that isolation they would have no access to our literature that mentions God. I was also thinking of what would occur in generations to come. 500, 1000 years down the track do you think religions would have risen again?

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