This is far from being the end of religion, but it's likely to be the end of celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church before too long.
The [i]ideal[/i] of religion (of almost any flavour) is a very good thing. My grandfather was a scientist, an engineer, a sort-of-politician / ambassador for Scottish business and as close to a selfless protestant as you'd ever find.
As a kid, I was in awe of him, although he was unfailingly kind and generous. He tried his best to help me understand his faith and spent a good part of his life juggling his scientific knowledge with his religious beliefs - wrote a few papers and books about it over the years.
He failed with me as I haven't set foot in a church to worship for decades, but I do feel as though we as a society have lost a cohesion made possible only by a common acceptance - even if it was just a cap doff towards a set of rules by which to live. I envy those who have faith (and I sometimes covet my neighbour's ass).
But I know I'll never be close to the ideal along with 90% of the human race, which is why religion is consistently filled with failure, hypocrisy and other human traits...
oldnpastit - Member
This is far from being the end of religion, but it's likely to be the end of celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church before too long.
+1 and that would be a good thing to come out of a very bad set/series of experiences.
but I do feel as though we as a society have lost a cohesion made possible only by a common acceptance - even if it was just a cap doff towards a set of rules by which to live. I envy those who have faith
Have you read [i]Religion for Atheists[/i] by de Botton? Seems like you may share some common ground
From Amazon
The boring debate (what forums have they visited?) between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved on by Alain de Botton's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false - and yet that religions still have important things to teach the secular world. [b]Rather than mocking religions, agnostics and atheists should instead steal from them - because they're packed with good ideas on how we live and arrange our societies. [/b]Blending deep respect with total impiety, de Botton (a non-believer) proposes that we should look to religions for insights into how to build a sense of community, make our relationships last, get more out of art, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, and much more. For too long non-believers have faced a stark choice between either swallowing peculiar doctrines or doing away with consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas. At last Alain de Botton has fashioned a far more interesting and truly helpful alternative.
