Looking at forums like this one, doesn't it look likely that sooner or later religion will fade away like geocentricism* faded away?

It isn't really the need of a higher purpose that keeps religion around. Rational racism can do that just as well: your goal can be to keep your race alive, and your motive for that can be that your race is the biological collective by which people like yourself are created. Rational racism is the natural philosophy that best fits with the truths revealed by socio-biology.

But what rational racism doesn't do is promise the individual an "everlasting life" in some sort of Heaven or Paradise. Whether the afterlife involves 72 virgin whores or an eternity of learning how to play a harp, the appeal of continued existence as an individual is quite strong. So that's where religion has the advantage with regard to weak-willed or weak-minded people.

Well.... <thinking> I believe there's a need for religion; the need to *have* a higher purpose to life than just being animated meat for awhile.

At it's best, religion opens doors to other cultures and *can* present the best face of a group; unfortunately, it's at it's worst when that group believes *their* religion should be the only one, and all others must be destroyed... It's the people with this intention that I hope fade away. They are the biggest challenge to global peace we have.

Wrong.

religion is NOT fading away. If anything, it is getting stronger as the traditions of old are replaced by fantasies of sky people (ie "aliens") which cannot be detected yet will come down from the sky to punish/save humanity depending upon their mood or the activities of humans.

Think about it: undetectable "people" in the sky whose existence is only supported by the opinions of "celebrities", the words of "authorities", tall stories, fake "artifacts, and the books written by "contactees". The threat/promise of visitation, and an evolving canon that describes their appearance and actions. If that is not a religion then nothing is.

Cheers!

What about anything on the internet makes you believe society is drifting towards being more logical? When I look at forums (even this one), it leads me to believe that our society will crash and burn as we beat each other to death over things said on Twitter and Facebook.

I think eventually, far far into the future, religion will level out - become more tolerant, more intellectual, more logical. Unless we somehow find a way to definitively prove what happens to our consciousness when our body dies, religion will not go away.

Humanism and Atheism (related but separate) have grown since the enlightenment. Churches continue to close and western culture has become very secular.

I think the developed west is seeing the death of organized religion - and without that structure less people will be infected by this meme with every year.

No, because the people sustaining the most extreme forms of religion are not on here - would consider it sinful - so both science and the churches are "preaching to the choir" talking to those already converted. See also FoxNews.

It would seem so, but is unlikely.

When our civilization falls, as all civilizations must, there will be a resurgence of superstitions, including religions.

the Bible clearly states there will be a falling away before the end. it has to happen. and it will.

We can only hope

*geocentricism = Belief the sun goes around the earth.