The Influence of Technology on Religion

Dominion of humans over the earth and everything in or on it; anthropomorphic deities; humans superior to other species--the end result of evolution or creation.

Definition of what it means to be human is blurring as more is discovered about intelligence and social organization of other species; genetic engineering may subdivide the human species.

Free will and individual human responsibility for actions upon which rewards and punishments are meted out.

Human behaviour is found to be strongly influenced by individual physiology, genetics, chemical and other physical factors outside individual control.

Lifetime "scorecard" for each human being to be used as a basis for eventual reward or punishment in the hereafter--as the Arlo Guthrie song says, a "permanent record."

Statistics on error rates combined with sheer volume and complexity of human transactions as observed every day; "infinite" accountability is not credible. A very young child who still considers herself to be the center of the world can believe that Santa Claus/god can keep track of whether she has been bad or good, but with experience of life comes the realization that there is so much going on in the world that it is infeasible for individual behaviour to be written in some big book in the sky.

Earth considered eternal and enduring, created by deities for humans to live on and dominate.

Cosmological predictions about the end of the earth and the sun, and about strikes by asteroids that have and will continue to affect life on earth--perhaps totally destroying it; earth science, especially the fragility of the biosphere for sustaining human life.

Rewards and Punishments, both in the hereafter and here and now:

• Heaven and Hell
• Legal consequences (where religious law is the only law)
• Societal consequences (peer and economic pressures)

Cosmology. Physical heaven hard to visualize once pictures of earth from space are seen. As for hell, earth science maps what is below the earth's crust.

Combination of religious and secular law difficult to sustain in the face of mass communications; societal and economic pressures difficult to impose where there is cheap and rapid communication. People increasingly want to vote on the laws that govern them; repressive states are finding it difficult to isolate citizens from contact with other cultures.

Non-rational personal belief and comfort systems. The human mind is capable of holding conflicting ideas simultaneously.

• Supersition
• Occult
• Astrology

Control over norms of societal behaviour.

• Laws
• Myths
• Societal Memory

Political control (including war)

• Force
• Persuasion

Group formation based on religion for emotional reasons (to counter loneliness and isolation) or for mutual material assistance (including charity).

Group formation based on:

• Kinship
• Ethnicity
• Trade or Profession
• Personal Characteristics or Interests
• Proximity

Economic assistance based on control and regulation by religious authorities.

Economic assistance based on governmental or secular group membership.

Economic assistance based on expected intervention by supernatural power[s].

Random chance, or operation of natural forces.