What roles should religion play? Should it get out of the 'origin of the universe' business?

I think, religion should play the role to spread the massage of

peace, love, social justice, equality and friendship

amongst different factions of human society

and should help to maintain a healthy relationship between humans and the immediate ecosystem.

I agree with you that

the religion should not emphasize on the subject of ' origin of the universe '

beyond certain limit,

because it relates more to the science,

so religion should let the science free to work more and more in this direction.

Okay, origin of the universe (not Adam and Eve, abiogensis, evolution, or any of the other issues.)

Last time I checked, science was pretty shaky about the actual origin of the universe.

The Big Bang sounded good for so many years, and it wasn't entirely against the Divine Origin theory, either, since everything that spread out from one point had to have existed a minute prior to the start of the Big Bang. Maybe God did do it, we can't really say.

Then the theoretical physicists proposed Membrane Theory and String Theory, which are difficult for the ordinary person to understand. But still, not an answer to the Beginning, because the Membranes had to exist. Who or what made them?

People who would like to exclude the possibility of a god don't get a lot of help from theoretical physicists, they are a slippery bunch, unwilling to go on record as saying that something of another dimension could NOT exist.

But then, of course, that's what a true scientist would say.

Science and religion are a Russian doll. All religion need do to remain relevant is to encompass the revelations of science. Religion has traditionally proclaimed a static truth that is literally carved in stone whilst each new scientific discovery reveals a new question. There will always be at least one question that science cannot answer and therefore it seems logical that religion will outlive science.

In his 1794 book "The Age of Reason" Thomas Paine explored the idea that the great failing of Christianity is that it just doesn't think big enough.

Come on, Tofudebeast. You're smart enough to not fall into the fundie Christianity = religion nonsense.

Pretty much all of the world's religions are concerned with spiritual matters, both personal and community, not literal interpretations of their creation mythoi. Take Judaism, the main focus of our current understandings of the first chapters of Genesis is the importance of language in shaping our perceptions and how that in turns 'creates' the reality we live in. Nothing fancy, not necessarily metaphysical, just the power of human language and a call to be careful in how we use it.

Leaders of religions will not do this because of the fact it shows that "the sacred" bible/other religious teachings were "wrong", so the rest could be. Catch 22. Atheist numbers go up year on year by about 2% though in the UK at least, so we are well on the way to having no/little religious people sooner or later.

EDIT: "If science did fill that role so much better that would be fine. But so far science is just guessing, speculating and making idiotic assumptions."

I think you mixed up the word "Science" with "Most Religions". For example, does christianity offer any proof of god? No, its all " just guessing, speculating and making idiotic assumptions". I wouldn't usually call it idiotic, but, to use your words...

Science on the other hand, heralds fossils, DNA, explains everything attempted to be explained fully and fitting to the puzzle.

I think it should play the same role that sports play: a personal interest which many (but not all) people happen to be into. It involves opposing teams and large group gatherings that people get emotionally into, but has absolutely nothing to do with the government.

As for origins of the universe, individuals are free to believe in whatever philosophical ideas they want. In the mean time, science will continue doing the real work.

Religion serves little purpose in the 21st century. It most certainly should not play any role in political decisions. The deluded need to be set free from forced indoctrination, namely Muslim and Christian. For centuries people believed old ladies with black cats had supernatural powers, fortunately now that type of mind set is only in the backward nations. In time man will come to realise the stupidity of Religion.

If religion is the truth, then it should be more than the private world..

if we want a religion that is for private manners, then some of the idealoiges/religions of today must change... but then that would imply that the religions are man-made

then what is the point of a religion?

Given that most of them seem utterly incapable of understanding the age and mechanics of the universe, yes they ought to leave it to those educated persons who do have an understanding of its development. As for their development in spiritual matters, they also fail here, as inspiring fear of death in children is hardly spiritual in my estimation and their god is a primitive derivative of Baal, Zoroaster and Aastra, combined in such a way as to impinge on any original thought and in fact promises to punish those who have any independent enquiry as to the actual origins of their religion.

Religion has not been in the "origin of the universe" since galileo's time so they have accepted the scientific explanation.