The future of religion—5 scenarios

1. The Enlightenment is over; religion sweeps the planet. . . .

The future of religion—5 scenarios

The future of religion—5 scenarios

1. The Enlightenment is over; religion sweeps the planet. . . .

2. Religion is in its death throes . . . .

The European Museum of Roman Catholicism?

Disney’s Magic Kingdom of Allah?

Hagia Sofia, in Istanbul

Church . . .

Mosque. . .

Museum

The future of religion—5 scenarios

1. The Enlightenment is over; religion sweeps the planet. . . .

2. Religion is in its death throes . . . .

3. Religions transform themselves into creedless moral “teams” . . .

Evolving pageantry?

The future of religion—5 scenarios

1. The Enlightenment is over; religion sweeps the planet. . . .

2. Religion is in its death throes . . . .

3. Religions transform themselves into creedless moral “teams” . . .

4. Religion diminishes in prestige and visibility, rather like smoking . . .

The future of religion—5 scenarios

1. The Enlightenment is over; religion sweeps the planet. . . .

2. Religion is in its death throes . . . .

3. Religions transform themselves into creedless moral “teams” . . .

4. Religion diminishes in prestige and visibility, rather like smoking . . .

5. Judgment Day arrives . . . .

The future of religion—5 scenarios

1. The Enlightenment is over; religion sweeps the planet. . . .

2. Religion is in its death throes . . . .

3. Religions transform themselves into creedless moral “teams” . . .

4. Religion diminishes in prestige and visibility, rather like smoking . . .

5. Judgment Day arrives . . . .

All but one of these (at most)

is wildly wrong. . . .

Which one is right?

Nobody knows!

We need to study religion the way we study global warming, global economy, global energy resources. . . . .

scientifically.

As a natural phenomenon

If Martian scientists came to Earth. . . .

What is it??Maha Kumbh Mela (2001) in Northern India

How did all this originate?

What is it for?

How does it perpetuate itself?

lancet fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum

A hijacker

A parasite that infects the brain and induces suicidal behavior . . . .

. . . on behalf of a cause other than one’s own genetic fitness.

Does that ever happen in us?

“islam” means submission

or surrender of self-interest to the will of Allah

Parchment music manuscript, ca 1540

Semen est verbum Dei. Sator autem Christus.

The Word of God is a seed. And the sower of the seed is Christ.

Ideas to die for:

Islam

Catholicism

Communism

Democracy

Justice

Freedom . . .

Is maximizing your progeny the summum bonum of your life?

Human culture is itself one of the fruits of the tree of life.

LUCA

Last

Universal

Common

Ancestor

LUCA

Last

Universal

Common

Ancestor

LUCA

Last

Universal

Common

Ancestor

Coprinus

Homo

Zea

Three closely related genera!

Fruits on the Tree of Life

Fruits on the Tree of Life

Fruits on the Tree of Life

Even human culture gets underway without any insightful design to prime the pump!

Ideas, not worms, hijack our brains.

Replicating ideas . . . .

Hitchhiking on music, art, rituals, . . . .

Surviving translation into other languages . . .

memes

Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene

are analogous to genes

Or to viruses (which are “naked” genes)

A virus is a string of nucleic acid with attitude.

A sketch of a sketch . . . Priming the pump: the genetic basis

HADD “hyperactive agent detection device”

(Justin Barrett, 2000)

A “population” of imps, goblins. fairies, gods, leprechauns, . . . .

competition for rehearsal space

What are the winners “for”?

For occupying the minds they find themselves in.

Squirrels, rats, pigeons, barn swallows, . . .

are not domesticated

but thrive in human company . . .

So do spoken languages, folk music . . .

How clever of sheep. . .

to acquire shepherds!

They could outsource their

protection from predators,

food-finding,

health maintenance . . .

at the cost of . . . .

loss of free mating

It was clever, but it wasn’t the sheep’s cleverness!

Orgel’s Second Rule (Francis Crick):

“Evolution is cleverer than you are.”

Similarly, ‘wild’ memes of religion got themselves domesticated.

They acquired stewards,

who were prepared to devote their lives to their flourishing.

The uses of domesticated god-memes

As super-duper coin-flippers. . .

As placebo-effect props . . . .

As surrogate police. . . .

Organized religions descended from folk religions, which were “wild,”

like languages! Like folk music!

Religions were like pigeons, barn swallows, squirrels, rats. . .

When we became conscious, deliberate stewards of our ideas, this changed everything. . . .

The free-floating rationales of evolution:

Cuckoo chick

The free-floating rationales of evolution:

Cuckoo chick

Dicrocelium dendriticum:

Organized religion cui bono?

Who benefits?

The shift from free-floating rationales to

represented rationales

The rationales of the stewards were responsive to other goals, to represented goals. . . .

(cf. the goals of animal domesticators)

“If ‘survival of the fittest’ has any validity as a slogan, then the Bible seems a fair candidate for the accolade of the fittest of texts.” Hugh Pyper, (theologian) 1998

belief in belief

Some people believe in God.

Some people believe in belief in God.

MORE people believe in belief in God.

How many more?

Lucy thinks Rock is to die for. . .

Desi thinks Rock is to die for . . .

Rock Hudson

Rock music

Why do people cling to the fantasy that “we almost all believe in God”?

Fostering guilt for disbelief

(1) Her insan doğar, yaşar, ve ölür.

(2) E=mc2

I believe (1) and (2)

I don’t understand (1)

I semi-understand (2)

With religious formulae, even the experts claim not to understand.

Religions are powerful forces in people’s lives.

Religions are brilliantly designed.

When we understand their design, we can better see what we might do, or should do, to revise their design to improve them.