Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Discuss philosophical questions regarding theism (and atheism), and discuss religion as it relates to philosophy. This includes any philosophical discussions that happen to be about god, gods, or a 'higher power' or the belief of them. This also generally includes philosophical topics about organized or ritualistic mysticism or about organized, common or ritualistic beliefs in the existence of supernatural phenomenon.
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TigerNinja
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Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Post by TigerNinja »

Over time, undeniably, societies change. They age and change their norms. A clear example is society's opinions on homosexuality. Look back under 50 years ago and it was seen as disgusting, however now, it is seen as normal and that there should be no one to oppose it and those who do are either homophobes or need to have good reason for doing so. If you have quantifiable reasons for opposing homosexuality, feel free to say why (not here though, this is a different topic). In all honesty, religious scriptures are meant to be the holiest things you can get and therefore are meant to be some of the most moral, however things that were seen as moral and normal at a certain time are no longer as such. There are certain things in every holy book that are controversial and were normal at the time but wild now.

the question of this is whether or not religions and holy books should be change with society. Definitions can become convoluted or sometimes even omitted because the holy books in their original form conflict with modern standards. What should we say to those who wish to truly follow the scriptures, when that leads them towards either homophobia (you shall not lie with man as you do with a woman) or decapitate people (All ye who do not follow Allah, smite them above their necks). All in all, I want to hear your opinions on who should win in the conflict between modern society and holy books. I do not mean to offend anyone, and if I did, my largest apologies I was solely stating multiple viewpoints, and I tried to remain as unbiased as possible when writing this. I hold no prejudices. Feel free to speak openly if I said something out of order (which I most likely certainly did), or if you simplh want to say something controversial. Please just be civil, this is a topic with thin ice that we tread on.
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer
Fooloso4
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Re: Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Post by Fooloso4 »

One way in which religion must changes with society and time is with regard to interpretation. Even with those who claim to read their holy texts literally we find differences in how the text is understood.When religious rules, teachings, and claims conflict with science or social practice they may be ignored or explained away or work around and loopholes are found.

Sometimes religious laws conflict with civil or criminal law.

In contemporary Judaism there are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Hasidic, and other sects. In ancient Judaism at the time of Jesus there were Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and others.

Famously, Paul made a distinction between the letter and spirit of God’s Law.

In Christianity there are Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Evangelical, and other sects.

Sunni and Shia both claim to be the true and legitimate leaders of Islam.
Spectrum
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Re: Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Post by Spectrum »

Note this;

Graphs: 5 signs of the ‘Great Decline’ of religion in America
https://religionnews.com/2014/08/01/fiv ... hs-church/


Three charts that prove America is shifting away from religion
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1218215396

Should or should-not, there are already evidence the trend of religiosity has been on a downward trend since 500 years ago to the present time. This is human nature's drive to progress from irrationality [as a psychological crutch] to more wiser rational methods to deal with the inherent existential crisis.

Note the rise of non-theists in general, the emergence of Communism & other non-theistic movements, the drop in church attendances, the advancements of knowledge, etc.

DNA wise ALL humans has the potential to face an existential crisis and the majority has an active existential crisis. Given the current psychological state of the majority of humans, religions are a critical necessity and most effective means to deal with that inherent unavoidable existential crisis.

Religions being a critical necessity for the individuals has its pros and cons. In the past till the present, the pros of religions outweigh the cons. Thus despite the people of religion killing millions and oppressing the masses, they [the people] have no choice but to accept religions as there are no effective alternatives to deal with the existential crisis.
But the tide is changing and at present going into the future, the cons of religions are outweighing its pros, especially from Islam where SOME Muslims would have no qualms exterminating the human species [when WMDs are easily available] as they have nothing to loose either way.

Thus it is critical humanity strive to find alternative fool proofs solutions to replace religion as a balm to soothe the inherent existential crisis.
Not-a-theist. Religion is a critical necessity for humanity now, but not the FUTURE.
Eduk
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Re: Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Post by Eduk »

Depends on your perspective as to whether religions 'should' change. From my perspective it's not really a should question.
Unknown means unknown.
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TigerNinja
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Re: Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Post by TigerNinja »

Eduk wrote: February 28th, 2018, 2:04 pm Depends on your perspective as to whether religions 'should' change. From my perspective it's not really a should question.

Sorry, but I don't follow. Are you suggesting that they shouldn't change or that they will, no matter what the surrounding conditions are?
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer
Eduk
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Re: Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Post by Eduk »

Well they will change. That is certain.
But should they change is a matter of perspective. For example if I thought my religion was immutable then I would say I don't think it should change. If I valued my religion however then I would see change as necessary otherwise my religion would become obsolete and forgotten so then I would want it to change. I could also not be religious and not value religion and therefore whether religion 'should' change might be meaningless to me.
Unknown means unknown.
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WiseGodCeeTruth
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Re: Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Post by WiseGodCeeTruth »

Religions do change over time. It's both inevitable and necessary. Generations change, knowledge grows or declines, civilizations rise and fall, but the inherent inquiry concerning the existence of a higher power will never cease (that is, of course, until the next golden age).

"Should it change?" is an irrelevant question in this case. What truly matters is wisdom and virtue, truth and reason, clarity and rationality - attributes which are clearly rare in modern times.

There is no spirituality without religion, and no religion without spirituality. To say that spirituality is a moot point is to declare oneself nihilistic and irrational. Therefore, religions will always exist. It's a central point of intelligent existence.

Truth exists, so the Truth (of existence, God) will always be manifest within intellectual ideals. Regardless of how you label or perceive it, religions will always exist. Any group or organization that aligns itself with analytical and detailed conceptions of the origins of existence (i.e Science) can be considered religious.

What must change, is the knowledge humans have of themselves. Many of us lack knowledge of self, meaning we lack divine knowledge (concerning our existence, God, truth, reality).
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LuckyR
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Re: Should Religions Change With Society and Time?

Post by LuckyR »

Everything changes including religions. The texts don't change, of course, but as stated, their interpretations change. It would be very odd if they didn't.
"As usual... it depends."
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