Do we have to fill a religious void?

[prudie]

I think there is a "void" to be filled. Most of us here on the forums are fairly confirmed atheists. The ones I have spoken to are articulate and intelligent and fairly self sufficient. I can see from the responses that nobody here believes there is a "void" in their lives. From my own personal experience, I absolutely agree. I have been an atheist since my mid-teens and I've never felt a "void".

However, not all people are as self sufficient as many here. There are those that would grasp other forms of woo if religions were to collapse. It's the reason that ridiculous things such as crystals and reiki and other forms of crap that keep teh Australian Skeptics alive and relevant that have arisen to fill the "void" as more and more people move away from organised religion.

I'm not sure what rational atheists and skeptics can create to fill the "void" for these other people that need "something", "anything" to grasp. However, we do need something.

[Iseeyouthere]

In my opinion... the 'religious void' is basically a "Need-to-do-something void" in the sense of people need an activity, hobby or means of entertainment/committment to break the daily patterns.

Since humans are creatures of habit, they need something to stick to otherwise they don't 'function' as well with-out them.

A bowling group that meets up once a week is a good example. Go out, have fun... maybe even do some good (I dunno... walking by and help an old lady across the road?) as opposed to sitting in a church listening to how worthless you are and you must follow the rules and be good or you'll burn.

[DanDare]

In the "social structure" version of the question there is something about the monolithic scale of religious community.

It makes me think of how there used to be only four TV channels in Oz. Not everyone watch telly but my school years were full of shared experience. Ok, I actually watched "Dark Shadows" the TV series and nobody else seemed to. But apart from that, and aquaducts, what have the r..I mean.. we had this strangely shared cultural background provided by TV.

the internet came along, cable TV, freeviews many channels, and I found that I couldn't make simple cultural references that my geographic contacts would be sure to get.

Is there a need for a large scale culture? Is it OK to have a thousand cultures on the internet and mostly have friends you don't meet? Or is there a need for a social construct to take the place of the religious structure?
[edit] Or is there already something that does this? Or don't we really need it at all? [/edit]

[Logic please]

Originally Posted by DanDare

Part of my own top of the head answer is that there are many useful things, like meditation, that religion has wrapped into itself and obscured. These are things that can and should be pulled out of the mess and repackaged. I don't see that as filling a religious void, but a human void created by religion's thievery.

FWIW, I tend to agree with this.

For some, there may be a void that can be filled by religion or similar, but with all religion and associated spiritual bunkum properly cast off, there wouldn't be any longer, methinks.

Because IMO religious and spiritual beliefs pervasively manufacture their own "voids" in congenial circumstances, and then set about being a handy solution to "problems" of their own making.

[Martin_Madej]

Ok I have my own ideas on this but can't be F***ed reading the super long posts

[wolty]

Originally Posted by Martin_Madej

Ok I have my own ideas on this but can't be F***ed reading the super long posts

You know Martin, you can say "fucked" here. It's ok.


Sent telepathically.

[wolty]

Originally Posted by The Irreverent Mr Black

Perhaps he couldn't be fucked writing the long word.

. It's funny, because I wondered about that.


Sent telepathically.

[Martin_Madej]

Lolz several years of working with children and holding back the "bad" words is ingrained in me, the funny thing is that when I speak face to face and drunk I don't have that problem..... Now that's F***ed