Reply #28: There's not much evidence that religion is an adaptive trait [View All]

[jgraz]

...though it may well be a perversion of other traits that did lead to better survivability, such as a desire to explain our surroundings or a tendency to trust parents and other elders. True religion (as opposed to mere tribalism or superstition) has only been around for 5 or 10 thousand years -- a fraction of our existence as a species. There's no reason to assume that this particular trait will still be around in another 5000 years.

We've already seen the decline of religious beliefs in most modern, information-based societies. My guess is that continued progress in science and communications technology will speed this decline. I woudn't be surprised to see salvationist religions go extinct within a few generations.