Where do you see world religion in a hundred years?

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Everything from demographics, trends, new religions, etc.

I’ll begin:
I think we will see the rise of Islam (especially in Europe and North America) and Mormonism. The Catholic Church may be cleansed of much of its lukewarm members by religions such as Islam pressuring for conversion. It will become smaller but much more faithful, making it a prime candidate for a second major rise. I think we may also see a dying out of much conservative and fundamentalist churches.
 
McatholicN said:
Everything from demographics, trends, new religions, etc.

I’ll begin:
I think we will see the rise of Islam (especially in Europe and North America) and Mormonism. The Catholic Church may be cleansed of much of its lukewarm members by religions such as Islam pressuring for conversion. It will become smaller but much more faithful, making it a prime candidate for a second major rise. I think we may also see a dying out of much conservative and fundamentalist churches.
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I agree about the increase in Islam, and Mormonism. However, I do believe the Catholic Church will continue to lose members due the the media’s coverage of the abuse scandal. Theologically will the Church weaken? No, but social aspects will certainly hurt us.
 
Not meaning to sound more-free-will-than-thou, but in a hundred years religion will be what people a hundred years from now choose it to be. When we attempt to predict the future, generally we just imagine if current trends continued indefinitely. But unexpected things happen, especially in Christianity. We are a religion of death and resurrection.
 
at present we are on a downward trend.Like you said islam seems to be a real problem.It could become more radical overall which would put it at odds with Christianity.(more at odds).Theres this trend to try to get everyone to get along which means christianity is becoming more liberal overall .If this were ever to happen christianity would lose its basic truths.I think unless there is some kind of Christian renewel and we continue on the same path things are going to ever more worse.It could come down to a terrible war between islam and christianity.I don’t see a big war in the near future(30yrs or so)but i think there will be smaller wars in regional areas until one or the other dominates.But in the long run one or the other will have to win out.The two are really incompatible.Maybe this will be the final war.At any rate I don’t think this earth is going to pass away soon.It will probably be a century or more.
 
I imagine that Europe will become more secular than it already is. African and South America will still serve as the places of growth of the Catholic Church. Asia will continue on it much the same way.

However, I agree with Stalin - something I hardly ever do - that America is only a few generations away from being an atheistic nation. Sad and hopefully it can be reversed.
 
McatholicN said:
Everything from demographics, trends, new religions, etc.

I’ll begin:
I think we will see the rise of Islam (especially in Europe and North America) and Mormonism. The Catholic Church may be cleansed of much of its lukewarm members by religions such as Islam pressuring for conversion. It will become smaller but much more faithful, making it a prime candidate for a second major rise. I think we may also see a dying out of much conservative and fundamentalist churches.
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I think much of this is possible
Western Europe will be an Islamic state with the Church surviving as a remnant grudgingly tolerated and the Eastern Churches squeezed as fundamentalist Islamic states warring against each other take over the former Soviet Republics. Russia herself is prime for Islamic influx unless the Orthodox and Latin Rites heal their differences and the Church experiences a revival that affects the culture, still godless in the void left by the fall of communism.

Don’t know about Mormons if they have a great growth it will be in the same areas where the Catholic Church will be growing, Africa, Latin America through a revival of the faith in reaction to anti-Catholic civil governments, and parts of Asia. The battle in Asia outside China will be against Islam also.

Do not underestimate the effect being made by those courageous conservative, evangelical and fundamentalist denominations in “mission” territories, in many places they are the only voice of Christ because they are operating under the rader that is directed against Catholic or Orthodox. They too are being persecuted however and their conversion through appeal to Christian unity should be the first concern of the Church.

Wherever the Church is persecuted she will strengthen and grow. Wherever she is influential and even dominant now, we will see the present situation of complacency and lukewarmness that incubates dissent continue to spread.

The one factor that could change this picture would be for Catholics to embrace whole-heartedly the theology of the Body and Humanae Vitae–the latter being IMO the single most prophetic utterance of the 20th century–and cease contracepting and grow the Church as God intended.
 
Mammonism will be finally accepted as the state religion of the US, with Scientology the only permitted religion for the anglophone minority.

Everywhere else will have embraced cargo cults.
 
I agree with most observations on Christianity. Protestantism is certainly on a liberal path, which could lead to the dying out of a more conservative protestantism. It makes you wonder whether future protestantism will basically become a universalist spiritual entity that really looks nothing like Christianity. With such loose and ungrounded beliefs, it could easily fall into atheism.

Catholicism will likely get smaller in the future, as I said. Those who don’t really care about the faith are likely to fall away at the slightest pressure. This may ultimately be good for the Church because it will have a strong rebound, as I said before.

What do you think will happen to the Vatican?
Do you think that any new religions will emerge?
 
McatholicN said:
I agree with most observations on Christianity. Protestantism is certainly on a liberal path, which could lead to the dying out of a more conservative protestantism. It makes you wonder whether future protestantism will basically become a universalist spiritual entity that really looks nothing like Christianity. With such loose and ungrounded beliefs, it could easily fall into atheism.

Catholicism will likely get smaller in the future, as I said. Those who don’t really care about the faith are likely to fall away at the slightest pressure. This may ultimately be good for the Church because it will have a strong rebound, as I said before.

What do you think will happen to the Vatican?
Do you think that any new religions will emerge?
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I think it will cause the Vatican to get more fundamental.Start demanding the clergy to get more conservative.start excommunicating more lax Cathholics,stop administrering the sacraments to people who contiually disobey the laws of the Church.I don’t know why their would be any new religions perhaps some existing religions or denominations coming out stronger against Catholicm.
 
even though I’ve heard that Mormonism is on the rise I don;t see why Mormonism will have a real takeoff.Do you?What’s is the big attraction to Mormonism?
 
McatholicN;:
I think we will see the rise of Islam (especially in Europe and North America) and Mormonism.
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The number of practising adherents of Islam, in the Islamic crest is on the decline. The number of converts to Islam in the west is approximately equal to the number of converts to Christianity in the Islamic Crest. The wild card is the growth of both religions in India and China.

The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (JW) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) spend roughly the same number of hours is outreach/missionary work. However, JW has fewer converts, but a higher retention rate than LDS. JW also retains more long terms members than LDS. LDS birth rate is slightly higher than JW birth rate. Overall, JW will outnumber LDS. Both will outnumber Protestant Christianity.

Catholic Christianity will remain steady, but the number of practising adherents will decline. Most Catholics will be catholic in name only, having attended the church four times in their life. (Their christening, confirmation, wedding, and funeral.) Also include attending church when those events happen to their family, or friends.

Orthodox Christianity will continue to exist under state control. The servant of the state. Whilst the percentage of practising adherents will be greater than for Catholic Christianity, the numbers will be down.

Catholic Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, and Islam will be in an uneasy alliance against the dominant faith — “if there is a god, or goddess, they have never been present on earth, so be a mensch, and give up your belief in fairy tales.”

Reform Judaism (Progressive Judaism) will have become a de facto and de juro heresy for Orthodox Judaism. Most Jews will be Reform Jews, with their local temple being a cultural resource, not a religious resource.

Conservative Judaism will split on whether to become Orthodox Jews, or Reform Jews. Their “happy middle” having been rejected by both sides, for being against the teachings of the Torah, and also irrelevant to contemporary Judaism.

Orthodox Judaism will be an even smaller, numerically, and percentage-wise, than is currently the case. However, its leaders will be far more influential over non-Jews than is currently the case. Their schuls will focus on the religious needs of Jews. Religious needs which historically have included Jewish culture.

Samaritans will have merged with Karaite Judaism. Karaite Judaism will remain on the fringe of Jewish society, being viewed as heresy by all other branches of Judaism.

Noachide will still be seen as a stage in becoming an Orthodox Jew. A place for gentiles to learn about Judaism, and not a form of religious expression in its own right.

Whilst Protestant Christianity will remain a label that is used, it will describe very different faiths:
  • Social Christianity: A Christianity that claims to based upon the Bible, but has thrown out all theology that was written before circa 2000, including the Bible;
  • Reformed Christianity: The descendent of TULIP, after throwing out all other innovations in Christian theology that came before circa 1950;
  • Confessional Christianity; The descendants of the Holiness Movement, after throwing out most, if not all innovations in Christian theology that came after circa 1900;
  • Fundamental Christianity: The descendants of the merger of the Anabaptist movement with Landmarkian Theology;
  • Private Christianity: A Christianity that is never expressed publicly. All worship, rituals, practices, and expressions of faith is done in homes. To outsiders, adherents look like moral persons, that might have once been part of either Catholic Christianity, or Social Christianity;
Buddhism: The simultaneous abdication of the Dalai Lama, the Panchem Lama (both of them) caused adherents in all branches of Buddhism to question the principles, and practices of their faith. Intellectually, they understand the reasons for the abdication, but spiritually feel that it is a betrayal on the part of their Gods and Goddesses. One of the repercussions of this betrayal, was the rise of a radical political Buddhism. One that drew more inspiration from Jihad, than the Buddha.

Hinduism: This has adherents in name only. The local swami gets as much respect as the local politicians — without a gun to the head of people, he not only is ignored, but actively ignored. A contempt that came as a direct result of Hinduism being run by the military, as a branch of state government. The branches that formed this religion, and have practising adherents, are wandering in the world much like the victims of the inquisition did, during the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries.

Bahai: This religion, whilst remaining small in number, gained a number of very influential people. As such, it has become the religion of the rich and powerful. It has become a social club. A place to meet and befriend the influential. Its religious beginnings, whilst not forgotten, have been discarded, in the name of its quest for paradise on Earth.

Neo-Paganism: The former religion of the masses. People pay lip service to it, maybe taking a first degree initiation because it is the social thing to do. On a practical level, most adherents wouldn’t know the difference between the Rede, and the Red Sea.

Amber
 
valentino said:
even though I’ve heard that Mormonism is on the rise I don;t see why Mormonism will have a real takeoff.Do you?What’s is the big attraction to Mormonism?
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It certainly doesn’t have the traditional values of Mammonism.
 
Oh I love future speculation! Its why I’ve always been a fan of science fiction.

OK, lets see… the trend right now is for mainstream protestantism to lose ground, so I see many mainstream prot. churches entirely disbanded in 100 years. The evangelicals (especially the mega churches and gospels of prosperity) just seem to grow and grow… and they are getting quite adept at their marketing efforts, so I see them continuing to rise.

Mormons, Islam and Jehovah Witness will still be in there swinging - they, too, have entire ministries devoted to the psychological art of conversion and some have already jumped on the social media bandwagon. No doubt, if the economic situation continues to deteriorate, many will start becoming isolationist and racist against other religions. Some will even preach hatred from their respective pulpits. It could get ugly.

I also predict that new religions will proliferate at ever increasing pace. Scientology will become “old mainstream” and more unusual and freaky religions will be created.

As the Green movement continues to grow, the Wiccans will become more mainstream.

On our home front, fewer and fewer Catholic parishes will have priests - the laity will adjust to mostly communion services in areas outside of big population centers. This might just serve to strengthen the laity’s value of the blessing of the apostolic succession, and priests, after the scourging of the abuse scandal will become admired again - even by non-Catholics.

Natural disasters, a series of economic downturns and other social issues will force the closing of many churches, and since communion services become the norm, and an actual Mass with an actual Priest more an extraordinary form of service, the Catholic church will once more turn to and encourage communion services to take place in small, family/local celebrations in homes or other places. No one will care anymore about Latin, or pipe organs or other niceties. The laity will just be pleased to gather together with a small stash of consecrated hosts and praise God.

OK, that’s as far as I got. Its just a wild speculation - pure science fiction.
 
I must admit that I think that it seems unlikely that new religions will arise. These aren’t the early days of Islam where you could claim to be a prophet without any proof.

It also feels like the world will become (and is becoming) more religious.
 
sojo said:
Scientology will become “old mainstream”
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Scientology costs too much to become “old mainstream”. The current cost to go through the entire process is around one hundred thousand dollars.

It isn’t gaining as many converts as either LDS or JW do. It is not retaining as many converts as either LDS or JW do. It is losing long term members at a higher rate than either LDS or JW do.

Amber
 
McatholicN said:
Everything from demographics, trends, new religions, etc.

I’ll begin:
I think we will see the rise of Islam (especially in Europe and North America) and Mormonism. The Catholic Church may be cleansed of much of its lukewarm members by religions such as Islam pressuring for conversion. It will become smaller but much more faithful, making it a prime candidate for a second major rise. I think we may also see a dying out of much conservative and fundamentalist churches.
Click to expand...
My sense is that the study of physics will lead to an increased emphasis on the study of consciousness. This will lead to a better understanding of spirituality. Something on the order of **Monistic Idealism **will get a slow start in this century, but will snowball into a major world view on spirituality. This will be disturbing to traditionalists for perhaps the next 50 years, but within a century, this will be the prevalent mode of thought among educated populations. Religion will have to be viewed in the context of the broader human experience, rather than continue in the cultural vacuums in which they developed. This is just my opinion.

Yoru friend
Sufjon
 
gallup.com/poll/147887/Americans-Continue-Believe-God.aspx

Based on this poll less and less youth believe in God and belief in God is mostly among the elderly. And I do know for a fact that number of girls becoming nuns has dropped by quite a lot. Number of men who choose to be priests is also dropping. Churches closing down.

Atheism is also on the strong rise. And I am pretty sure agnosticism will rise as many people will be raised in “catholic in name only” families or non practicing christian families. Number of non practicing Christians is so prevalent everywhere I am pretty sure they will eventually be agnostic and it will take only a few generations before the USA becomes a godless society.

Islam is growing only because of high population growth by Middle Eastern nations but I am sure that atheism and agnosticism will soon become a really significant percentage. With less priests, nuns, mass going Catholics I am sure the Church’s numbers will fall dramatically once the aging members kick the bucket in 30 years or so. Mormons and Jehovah Witness groups will eventually fall in time after a short rise because atheism is becoming very appealing.

Within 80 years from now the world will be a lot lot different place.
 
GuanYuWarGod said:
gallup.com/poll/147887/Americans-Continue-Believe-God.aspx

Based on this poll less and less youth believe in God and belief in God is mostly among the elderly. And I do know for a fact that number of girls becoming nuns has dropped by quite a lot. Number of men who choose to be priests is also dropping. Churches closing down.

Atheism is also on the strong rise. And I am pretty sure agnosticism will rise as many people will be raised in “catholic in name only” families or non practicing christian families. Number of non practicing Christians is so prevalent everywhere I am pretty sure they will eventually be agnostic and it will take only a few generations before the USA becomes a godless society.

Islam is growing only because of high population growth by Middle Eastern nations but I am sure that atheism and agnosticism will soon become a really significant percentage. With less priests, nuns, mass going Catholics I am sure the Church’s numbers will fall dramatically once the aging members kick the bucket in 30 years or so. Mormons and Jehovah Witness groups will eventually fall in time after a short rise because atheism is becoming very appealing.

Within 80 years from now the world will be a lot lot different place.
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Unfortunately I think you are spot on (especially with the eventual rise of secularism in the Middle East, which IMHO is the reason the West has been so involved militarily there)…and not just atheism really, but a kind of aggressive secularism, not so much secular humanism as much as the deification of humanity, a cult of the body and cult of human intelligence. And this is not a vague future assumption, but rather sound prediction based on the parabola’s end of the past century’s developments.

Just look at the news, every kind of anti-Christian, and moreover anti-theist behavior is not just accepted but outright promoted: in Britain Terry Pratchett is given soulful accolades for filming the suicide of a man while the hard-faced wife looks approvingly on; in my own Southern California a relic of Saint Anthony is stolen in Long Beach and there is outright glee from the news media and exuberant joy from the blogosphere and anti-Catholics (who ironically enough are fundamentalist Christians and will no doubt precede us to the lions as it were); gay ‘marriage’ is seen not only as a cause célèbre but as a basic human right across the Western—and no doubt soon, entire—world; Christians and theists in general are mocked day and night on nearly every available news and media outlet, ad infinitum, in a situation remarkably similar to the National Socialist’s propaganda war against the Jewish people. If the Vatican was attacked with a W.M.D. this week, there would be smarmy satisfaction across much of the globe, followed soon by crude comments and stupid witticisms.

Now, granted, the ‘popular’ media is part and parcel of this secular humanist drive, but, really, if one goes out and speaks to the younger crowd, this drive toward secular humanism—for the great part—absolutely pans out. Cult of the body, cult of technology, cult of pleasure, cult of ‘equality and dignity’, cult of earth worship…these are the new, or rather, the renewed, gods of our world. No longer the Living God.

Even pagan Rome maintained certain classical virtues, e.g. “nothing too much” and “know thyself” which they inherited from the Greek masters and their own civic history of patriotism and a strong, coherent family unit. The most militantly homosexual Spartan himself would have balked at and been disgusted by the very recent notion of same-sex marriage. Indeed, give it a few more years, and Sodom and Gomorrah will have nothing compared to our modern world.

What does the future hold? Probably outright worship of the state…ever increased genetic manipulation, like cloning, to replace the traditional family…the removal of the last boundaries of sexual decency…the increasing loss of free-will…ever more invasive technologies…loss of free information…globalism, of course, maintained by a small set of the international elite…

…I suspect, all said and done, the next fifty years, let alone the next hundred…will be a mix of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley’s Brave New World. Unfortunately it will probably contain more of the former than the latter.
 
PS – I also find it fairly ironic that while worldwide the fabric of Christianity is distintegrating one month at a time many Christians Catholic and otherwise (including some hereabouts) are so caught up in arcane debates about liturgical ‘abuse’, COTT, the errors or certain protestant or ‘traditonalist’ groups, etc.

Yes, the band plays on as the Titanic sinks into a great new abyss.
 
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