consider how liberal, or open minded, the world has become in the last 50 yrs:

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

Yet this painting is about two things: Death and God. It's a memento mori; it's saying that, "No matter how good your life is, I, Death, exist there, so you had better keep to the priority of the afterlife and please God."

PannicAtack

I love Vanitas paintings. Have you seen the one with the lobster and the decanter of wine?

individualism started to take off during the enlightenmentAtheists_Pwn

Yep, you are correct. Individualism was a product of the enlightenment, and had nothing to do with the plagues, which happened 300 or 400 years earlier (depending on when one proposes that the age of enlightenment began). The "black death" increased the role of religion in European society. It made people more religious and made the church more powerful than ever before.

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"][QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

Yet this painting is about two things: Death and God. It's a memento mori; it's saying that, "No matter how good your life is, I, Death, exist there, so you had better keep to the priority of the afterlife and please God."

Theokhoth

I love Vanitas paintings. Have you seen the one with the lobster and the decanter of wine?

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"] Don't forget about the vanitas paintings. Those things are made of that.PannicAtack

I love Vanitas paintings. Have you seen the one with the lobster and the decanter of wine?

It's not very good resolution, but here's the one I'm talking about:http://www.sinoorigin.com/images/Classical-Still-Life/large/Still-Life%20with%20Fruit,%20Flowers,%20Glasses%20and%20Lobster.jpg

I effing love this painting.

Aw come on man. Did it ever occur to you that I LIKE being Catholic? >_> :(

Yeah, the world's definitely changed and is changing, but hopefully not for the worse.

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"][QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

I love Vanitas paintings. Have you seen the one with the lobster and the decanter of wine?

Theokhoth

It's not very good resolution, but here's the one I'm talking about:

I effing love this painting.

honestly I think religion is here to stay, it will just become more casual-friendly, if that makes sense.

As it is now, religion seems to becoming quite polarized; religious folks, the serious ones, appear to be under attack by a quickly-modernizing world. I feel soon, maybe when the next few popes come and go, a pope will say "Hey, there is no need for all this strict stuff. Gays are ok, they dont go to hell. Science is good, they want to help, not disprove God (most of the time, at least), et, etc"

Islam in 50 years will be where Christianity is now, and 50 years past that it will be even more "casual".

I think the attitude of "Hey, if you have faith, thats all you really need" will be adopted, and the code that exists and guides people today (to odd or extreme actions and beliefs) will be long gone.

Thats what I hope, at least. Religion is not bad, I just think it is kinda scared right now

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"]I don't think so. It's been a while since I took art history, I'm afraid. I just remember that vanitas paintings just completely ran off of momento mori. The best way to make a still life look somehow disturbing.PannicAtack

It's not very good resolution, but here's the one I'm talking about:

I effing love this painting.

If I could remember the damn thing's name, I could tell you for certain; as it is, I want to say it's either Baroque or Mannerist, but I'm not certain. I know it's not Renaissance or Enlightenment because of the detail and lack of central focus.

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"]

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

It's not very good resolution, but here's the one I'm talking about:

I effing love this painting.

Theokhoth

If I could remember the damn thing's name, I could tell you for certain; as it is, I want to say it's either Baroque or Mannerist, but I'm not certain. I know it's not Renaissance or Enlightenment because of the detail and lack of central focus.

You probably know more about this than I do. "Mannerist" is lost on me. >_>

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"] Pretty sweet painting. What era?

PannicAtack

If I could remember the damn thing's name, I could tell you for certain; as it is, I want to say it's either Baroque or Mannerist, but I'm not certain. I know it's not Renaissance or Enlightenment because of the detail and lack of central focus.

You probably know more about this than I do. "Mannerist" is lost on me. >_>

The Mannerist period, from what I know of it, doesn't officially exist. It's sort of a transition era between Renaissance and Baroque, and is very difficult to define. I don't think it even lasted a century. But still, it's there. >___>

Well I am conservative and I am 19 so I guess I am one of them radical folks nowadays...roflCHOASXIII

Religion has existed for as long as humans existed. This isn't the first time someone said religion won't exist in x years and it won't be the last. Western culture has become more tolerant, but I hope that tolerance doesn't extend to the wrong sorts of things or we'll be merely taking three steps back for every one step forward.Theokhoth

That hasn't happened already?

Though I also agree that religion isn't going anywhere. I'm pretty sure that we'll (USAicans) elect a gay black, woman, cosplay fetishist as president LONG before we elect an open atheist.

As someone else also said, as soon as times get hard, religion is back. And...times have recently gotten a bit harder, and the times are going to get a LOT harder still. When times get craptasically awful, religon is going to make a HUUUUGE comeback, because all we're gonna have is some kind of hope that freaking GOD comes down and saves us.

honestly I think religion is here to stay, it will just become more casual-friendly, if that makes sense.

As it is now, religion seems to becoming quite polarized; religious folks, the serious ones, appear to be under attack by a quickly-modernizing world. I feel soon, maybe when the next few popes come and go, a pope will say "Hey, there is no need for all this strict stuff. Gays are ok, they dont go to hell. Science is good, they want to help, not disprove God (most of the time, at least), et, etc"

Islam in 50 years will be where Christianity is now, and 50 years past that it will be even more "casual".

I think the attitude of "Hey, if you have faith, thats all you really need" will be adopted, and the code that exists and guides people today (to odd or extreme actions and beliefs) will be long gone.

Thats what I hope, at least. Religion is not bad, I just think it is kinda scared right now

mrbojangles25

There wouldn't be much change even if religion died. There will still be the media influencing people.

It will probably never dissapear entirely, but atheism is becoming more and more common. The US is really lagging behind though. They're a drastically religious nation.

Conversely there are many European nations where those who do not believe in god are close to, or even the majority. It's especially common amongst the younger generations. 2/3rds of all English teenagers do not believe in a god, for instance.

Religion won't die away, in my opinion. But the West has certainly become much more open minded in the past 60 years.hokies1313

It will probably never dissapear entirely, but atheism is becoming more and more common. The US is really lagging behind though. They're a drastically religious nation.

Conversely there are many European nations where those who do not believe in god are close to, or even the majority. It's especially common amongst the younger generations. 2/3rds of all English teenagers do not believe in a god, for instance.

Liberal and open-mindedness are not synonymous. Thinking that is a grave mistake. I think religion keeps more people strong and gives more people a purpose than you seem to realize.

Compared to 50 years ago; yea people have become more open-minded, but are still a bunch of morons. Offense to all I am also including myself within the people category because sadly I am a person.

Liberal and open-mindedness are not synonymous. Thinking that is a grave mistake.

Elephant_Couple

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal

And yet John Lennon's "Imagine" makes us feel like we've accomplished nothing! Besides some more wars.

[QUOTE="Elephant_Couple"]

Liberal and open-mindedness are not synonymous. Thinking that is a grave mistake.

StopThePresses

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal

That's completely relative. Where you're tolerant of something, you're intolerant of something else. Where you're open-minded, you're closed-minded toward something else. The very assertion that religion is associated with dying ideas is itself intolerant and closed-minded. I mean, religious directives have not suddenly been proven invalid or useless; they've been written off. All of these supposed "new" ideas we are supposedly moving towards have been prevalent in centuries past; we just moved away from them. Given enough time, we'll move back to what we're leaving behind now. History does repeat itself. I don't understand the arrogance, or the over-certainty, that so-called "liberal" ideas properly implemented are any better for any community than properly implemented conservative ideas. There is no objective evidence for that.

[QUOTE="StopThePresses"]

[QUOTE="Elephant_Couple"]

Liberal and open-mindedness are not synonymous. Thinking that is a grave mistake.

Elephant_Couple

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal

That's completely relative. Where you're tolerant of something, you're intolerant of something else. Where you're open-minded, you're closed-minded toward something else. The very assertion that religion is associated with dying ideas is itself intolerant and closed-minded. I mean, religious directives have not suddenly been proven invalid or useless; they've been written off. All of these supposed "new" ideas we are supposedly moving towards have been prevalent in centuries past; we just moved away from them. Given enough time, we'll move back to what we're leaving behind now. History does repeat itself. I don't understand the arrogance, or the over-certainty, that so-called "liberal" ideas properly implemented are any better for any community than properly implemented conservative ideas. There is no objective evidence for that.

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with you saying that liberal and open-mindedness are not synonymous. "Open-minded" is literally a definition of the word. How can a word not be synonymous with its own definition?

Religion will always be around.

[QUOTE="Elephant_Couple"]

[QUOTE="StopThePresses"] Well, not everybody is using the Rush Limbaugh or Fox News political definition that they have spent years crafting knee-jerk reactions to. In fact, on one website I count 13 separate definitions of the word, and that is just for the adjective. In fact, one of the definitions is: "open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc. "

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal

StopThePresses

That's completely relative. Where you're tolerant of something, you're intolerant of something else. Where you're open-minded, you're closed-minded toward something else. The very assertion that religion is associated with dying ideas is itself intolerant and closed-minded. I mean, religious directives have not suddenly been proven invalid or useless; they've been written off. All of these supposed "new" ideas we are supposedly moving towards have been prevalent in centuries past; we just moved away from them. Given enough time, we'll move back to what we're leaving behind now. History does repeat itself. I don't understand the arrogance, or the over-certainty, that so-called "liberal" ideas properly implemented are any better for any community than properly implemented conservative ideas. There is no objective evidence for that.

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with you saying that liberal and open-mindedness are not synonymous. "Open-minded" is literally a definition of the word. How can a word not be synonymous with its own definition?

The point is that, in this context, they are not. Different definitions apply in different contexts.

[QUOTE="RearNakedChoke"]

It will probably never dissapear entirely, but atheism is becoming more and more common. The US is really lagging behind though. They're a drastically religious nation.

Conversely there are many European nations where those who do not believe in god are close to, or even the majority. It's especially common amongst the younger generations. 2/3rds of all English teenagers do not believe in a god, for instance.

Gaming-Planet

I'm not from England, but I was basing that statement off of 2009 English government census. According to the results, 2/3rds of English teenagers do not believe in a higher being.