Successful society without religion?

Is it possible?
This article i ran across highly doubts it.
The link is below, but, i think this is a good summation of it, overall...

History clearly shows us that religion was what directly caused people to study philosophy and astronomy for hundreds of years. This is the undeniable historical consensus.

There is no historical example of any advanced astronomical model arising in an initially atheistic or non-religious society, not one.

There is no civilization in history that some how all of a sudden starts off with the scientific method, Newtonian physics, and higher mathematics.

So without religion there would be a near 100% chance of the scientific method, Newtonian physics, higher mathematics, and all scientific achievements that came after being non-existent.

http://itsnobody.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/where-would-modern-society-be-without-religion/

So, what say you, KMCers? Would society (I'M talking world wide, just for clarity.) be about the same without having religion throughout its development?

History clearly shows us that religion was what directly caused people to study philosophy and astronomy for hundreds of years. This is the undeniable historical consensus.

Frustration of not knowing is what caused religion. Religion does not cause people to study, on opposite it gives answers making research and studies unnecessary.

Okay, i'm not agreeing with that line of thought. But its definitely interesting. Thanks for starting things off.

It is not possible, because many people need to believe in something greater than themselves to get them through this life. Religion is used to reinforce faith, because faith comes from hearing and reading whatever religion a person deems fit to follow. So to sum this up, you can not have a successful society without faith.

Interesting.

I wonder what a society which consisted solely of Scientologists and Raelists would look like?

Originally posted by Arhael
Frustration of not knowing is what caused religion. Religion does not cause people to study, on opposite it gives answers making research and studies unnecessary.

That's not what happened through all of human history though. And your first statement is downright false, that notion has been attached to religion from anticlerical people, but religion and ignorance don't have that kind of straight forward relationship.

On the topic at hand: I think a society without religion that does well and develops correctly can happen. I just don't think it can be made from humans, since humans will always build some sort of spirituality, as their brains are geared towards belief.

Originally posted by Bentley
That's not what happened through all of human history though. And your first statement is downright false, that notion has been attached to religion from anticlerical people, but religion and ignorance don't have that kind of straight forward relationship.

On the topic at hand: I think a society without religion that does well and develops correctly can happen. I just don't think it can be made from humans, since humans will always build some sort of spirituality, as their brains are geared towards belief.

Bentley, je ne comprend pas. If it's not for humans, who would it be for?

Good thread, Riv. 👆

As you know, I'm a God-believing Mormon who labels himself as an "agnostic-theist." but, I honestly think the world would be a better place if all religion disappeared, now. Unfortunately, I also believe humans are designed to believe in God (or the supernatural), for the most part, so we are stuck with religion. There is an area of study called "Evolution of Religion" and it is pretty solid, imo.

Originally posted by MF DELPH
Interesting.

I wonder what a society which consisted solely of Scientologists and Raelists would look like?

Vulcans.

Edit: I read you wrong, thought you meant "scientist and realist". So my answer is now: Hollywood

Originally posted by riv6672
Is it possible?
This article i ran across highly doubts it.
The link is below, but, i think this is a good summation of it, overall...

...

So, what say you, KMCers? Would society (I'M talking world wide, just for clarity.) be about the same without having religion throughout its development?

If you could eradicate all religions from the world, it would simply be a matter of time before new religions would emerge from the popular culture. I don't think the two can be separated for very long. Creating religions are what humans do, and have always done.

I'm not saying eradication, i'm saying religion not ever existing.

Originally posted by riv6672
I'm not saying eradication, i'm saying religion not ever existing.

Do you mean like starting over? Evolving again without religion?

I think we wouldn't have a society without first having religion. The very first cities were based around religion. When you start to have a lot of people living together, you have to have a system of order and laws. It was religion that made society possible by imposing order.

Originally posted by riv6672
So, what say you, KMCers? Would society (I'M talking world wide, just for clarity.) be about the same without having religion throughout its development?

for me, having no religion - or having only one religion - will make a better world... 🙂

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Do you mean like starting over? Evolving again without religion?

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
I think we wouldn't have a society without first having religion. The very first cities were based around religion. When you start to have a lot of people living together, you have to have a system of order and laws. It was religion that made society possible by imposing order.

Originally posted by Stoic
Bentley, je ne comprend pas. If it's not for humans, who would it be for?

Animals? Aliens? Robots? I'm personally against anthropocentrism, what can I say?

Originally posted by dyajeep
for me, having no religion - or having only one religion - will make a better world... 🙂

I think the latter is impossible, while technically I agree it could lime difficulties among people. For me the idea of having a single religion is not unlike having a single language. There are only advantages at speaking in the same fashion, but sadly that's not how idioms develop, they will always stray from others because of variations leading to important différences.

Arguably modern technology could help to establish simple thought, but we are not using it for that at the moment.

Originally posted by riv6672
Close enough.

So, without religion, you think nothing else could have imposed that order.
Thats pretty much what i was hoping for, opinion wise, thanks.

No, ants and bees seem to have figured out a way to have a society without religion (as far as I know). But we are not ants; we are humans. Perhaps religion is a reflection of what we are.

Originally posted by riv6672
So, without religion, you think nothing else could have imposed that order.
Thats pretty much what i was hoping for, opinion wise, thanks.

There is always something "sacred" in our relationship with authority, our brains seem to accept laws and traditions as something beyond us, almost supernatural.

This doesn't mean it's actual religion when we talk about having a government, but we would consider such government, in it's value as a moral protector, pretty much as the same as a religion.

Originally posted by Bentley
...
This doesn't mean it's actual religion when we talk about having a government, but we would consider such government, in it's value as a moral protector, pretty much as the same as a religion.

In the past, there may not have been a distinction between the two.

Ha, separation of church and state.

Originally posted by riv6672
Ha, separation of church and state.

I think Derrida writes about how many superstitions were passed from the Church to the government when the original separation came to be. We have an incredible amount of leftovers, I'd argue that the reject of participating into the political life of your country has something to do with fear of becoming a pariah, a modern heretic. Politics -according to the acts of the majority- aren't something all citizens should practice, we need priests.