What Will Be The Religion Of The Future?
Religion Unplugged believes in a diversity of well-reasoned and well-researched opinions. This piece reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent those of Religion Unplugged, its staff and contributors.
Photo by Austin Distel
(OPINION) A church in my neighborhood has a cell phone tower in its parking lot. Some neighbors objected to its construction, but the church, perhaps driven by financial concerns, prevailed.
The cell phone tower may be a prophetic witness to the religion of the future, which according to historian Yuval Noah Harari is likely to be data driven, fueled by the fusion of all information — which cell phone towers, along with a host of other current technologies, move forward.
“Religion and technology always dance a delicate tango” Harari asserts n his 2017 book “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow.” For example, writes Harari, Judaism and then Christianity along with other theistic religion emerged with the rise and spread of agricultural technologies. These technologies gave birth to larger population centers that needed larger unifying myths, which theistic religions supplied.
Now, thinks Harari, these religions have served their creative purposes and are not able to deal with the opportunities and fears that arise with our current technologies.
Data religion, which “declares that the universe consists of data flows, and the value of any phenomenon or entity is determined by its contribution to data processing,” may govern our future, claims Harari. He acknowledges that this claim may seem eccentric but says that its science has already prepared the way for this religion.
All things connected
Science will give us the “Internet-of-All-Things” to which all must be connected. In the religion of the future, “the greatest sin would be to block the data flow.”
“Traditional religions assured you that that your every word and action was part of some great cosmic plan, and that God watched you every minute and cared about your thoughts and feelings,” writes Harari. “Data religion now says that your every word and action is part of the great data flow, that the algorithms are constantly watching you and that they care about everything you do and feel. Most people like this very much.”
You may doubt this final assertion, but consider how dependent we are on the diagnostic feedback doctors have through their computers. Consider our addiction to social media and smart phones with their infinite apps. Consider that new cell phone towers are springing up everywhere. New church steeples? Not so many.
Harari himself has some doubts about where data religion will take us, but sees no alternative.
I do.
For starters, many old-time religions can and should continue to be communities of care for their participants, for the greater communities in which they dwell and the world as a whole. Though Harari’s “Homo Deus” and his previous 2014 book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” are brilliant in giving us the “big picture” and are very much worth reading, in neither does he voice an understanding of how crucial religious communities have been and still can be for helping ordinary people live day by day and for helping them help others.
Old-time religions still important
If Harari’s prediction holds true and we are all going to be swallowed by a dominant “Internet-of-All-Things,” religious communities will be even more important in giving us alternatives.
The great teachers and prophets of religious traditions, such as Confucius, Isaiah, the Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed, have always voiced alternatives to dominant versions of reality, providing a better way for us to follow.
Some have emphasized the cultivation of one’s inner-self, some have emphasized care for one’s neighbors, whoever and wherever they might be and some have critiqued cultural practices that undermine the general welfare.
Surely their voices are still worth our consideration.
Also still worth our consideration is the perspective of many Indigenous religions that call for respect for all our relatives on our mother earth. If we and our home planet are to survive, we need to learn this respect.
One reason I and I suspect many other readers value FāVS.News is that it makes us aware of the variety of religious experiences flourishing in our region. We may not be able to participate in most of these experiences, and we may not even understand some of them, but we should all appreciate the diversity of viewpoints presented, including those that question religion.
In my opinion, our future depends on this diversity.
This piece is republished from Spokane FaVS.
Walter Hesford, born and educated in New England, gradually made his way West. For many years he was a professor of English at the University of Idaho, save for stints teaching in China and France. At Idaho, he taught American literature, World literature and the Bible as literature. He currently coordinates an interfaith discussion group and is a member of the Latah County Human Rights Task Force and Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Moscow. He and his wife, Elinor, enjoy visiting with family and friends and hunting for wild flowers.