It is impossible to predict the future, but an analysis of what we know about religion-including the reasons for its very emergence and why some people come to faith and some leave it-can help us predict how people's attitudes toward religion will evolve in the decades and centuries ahead.
An ethical-political doctrine founded by the ancient Chinese thinker Confucius, Confucianism is based on: The doctrine of filial deference, according to which a respectful son must spend his life devotedly caring for his parents, serving and pleasing them, being ready to do anything for their health and welfare,
One of the Chinese religions, founded in the II-III centuries A.D. The Taoist religion was a traditional Chinese religion that emerged in the second and third centuries A.D. and was a popular religion with believers who were naturally and simply religious in their views and beliefs
A religion that has embraced the concept of karma and ultimate liberation-nirvana, common to the Indian faiths. Without recognizing the existence of a creator-God, it regards the human soul as an eternal substance and the world as primordial.
Ancient Iranian religion, the creation of which is attributed to the mythical prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster). Zoroastrianism was formed by the 7th century B.C.
Scholars are still trying to isolate the factors that push a person or people toward atheism, but some commonalities are emerging. Part of the appeal of religion is that it provides a sense of security in our unpredictable world. It is not surprising, therefore, that the greatest percentage of nonbelievers is found in countries where there is a high level of economic, political, and domestic stability.
