are the current religions of today really here to stay for all time or is that just what we want to believe?

GOD IS HERE TO STAY .

Religions and other belief systems should stay for as long as much of the universe is unobservable. We haven't been everywhere; far from it. Religions, and other forms of belief are social 'hypotheses' that allow us to explore the universe within our hearts and minds, creating worldviews that we adapt as we learn more about what we can prove is true. They allow us a leg-up on social behavior that otherwise would take far longer.

Imagine if we had had no religion, no law creation, no social consciousness. Imagine how dark and primitive our society would have been. Science came out of philosophy, and philosophy out of religion, a sequence well documented historically. If could go back in time and stop religion from beginning, philosophy, and thus science would have been stillborn, and we would be living near caves ('caveman' is a misused term. We really don't have a lot of information about people who lived in caves, just people who used them for storage and painting).

Now, in several thousand years it will be different, but religion will remain, and people will be more mature individually and as a species. it would be well if we could work with religion more closely to help them create a more universal worldview for all of us, adaptable, modular, creative, willing to explore and learn from discoveries, but dedicated to understanding God(s) and all things we make guesses on. I think the best tool we have for creating such a thing is free speech.

Keep talking...

Most will probably fall to the wayside as they have in the past as things are learned about them, proving them to be untrue or as science disproves them. They come and go and evolve as things are learned. Most won't survive the test of time or a small part of it will be taken to make an offshoot that will overtake the original. Right now there is a trend of people leaving religion. That might be the indicator for the change coming.

Let me tell you something different...better... I have true answer to this.

Before the gods exist, their religions did not exist. It exist after people exist, otherwise no worshippers, no religion, right?

Some religions were abolished because of another religion's military might or politic power or... more precisely - karma.

Buddhism point of view... religion is founded, discover, not created. When the people that meant for a certain set of teachings(religion) exist, that religion will be form or descended from high places to liberate them. When those people gone or totally liberated away, that religion is no longer necessary to exist in this world, then it gones, simple enough?

Buddhism is universal-embedded, universal-incorporated, the universe itself, cannot be created or destroy, cannot be add or minus.... It doesn't need or depend on the human race to exist. Thus it doesn't need to conquer this world or commence the 'final battle' to destroy some other religions to gain ownership of this world. This world is just a tiny low level materialistic dust ball. Why so fancy to claim it all? or fear that it perish? or taken by other religion or non-religion power?

If you cannot find better answer than mine, join me.

Anyway, even that it fade away, your god is still up there. Because the gods' existense never have depended on human, they can exist on their own.

Religion is only as strong and enduring as the men who create it. Once a faction of men trying to remain empowered by a belief system fail or faulter, another individual or group belief takes over.

Religion is like the telephone game too, so it is ever evolving as new and different infomation is added.

One purpose of religion is to subjugate another group of people. This is proven time and time again in our theological history. Dogma is a tool for control.

All religion will come to pass when Jesus Christ comes back in Glory and establishes his Millenial Church on Earth.

Don't confuse the 'church' comment with religion. True Christianity is anti-religion, as taught in the doctrines of Christ.

It is too bad that so many 'Christians' have turned God's word into typical religious 3-ring circus.

The Bible speaks different, and is very specific on the fact that all knees will bow to Christ (God) and all religions will fall.

The basic religious question is; Do I believe in me or another. All the religions you mentioned were open to another. So in a sense they have just developed. I hope religion changes everyday because that means we are still living with a dynamic sense of our selves and our universe. As we change, our culture and religion also change.

I thing your question here comes from a sense that religion is a static thing, to me its very much alive.

Good Question.

For me, there is One God, who is like a tree. Many branches on the Tree, each Branch, a religion, but yet is not the Branch also the Tree? So in essence, there will always be branches on the Tree, but even if a Branch falls, the Tree remains the Same.

Om Peace Amen

Well, for one thing, I believe we are in the end times according to what I've studied in the Bible. My church congregation agrees with me. I don't think we have several thousands of years left.

I say - currently existing religions will stay for ever. Information is being preserved better now than the time of mythologies.

Those beliefs are here to stay until the world is destroyed. But God is and has always been here before eternity.