I'm reading Acts of Faith by Rodney Stark and Roger Finke to help with a paper I'm writing for my Public Choice class and in preparation for a final exam in my Economics of Religion class. Tonight I came across this quote (p. 146):
...why would a religion without god have a future? Cupitt's prescription strikes us as rather like expecting people to continue to buy soccer tickets and gather in the stands to watch players who, for lack of a ball, just stand around. If there are no supernatural beings, then there are no miracles, there is no salvation, prayer is pointless, the Commandments are but ancient wisdom, and death is the end. In which case the rational person would have nothing to do with church. Or, more accurately, a rational person would have nothing to do with a church like that.
In other words, a religion without a god is one without rewards to sustain commitment. Monotheistic religions tend to provide the strongest rewards and hence the strongest commitment levels. This explains (in part) the persistence of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. (Many Hindus believe that there is only one divine being who manifests in many forms. Read more on this here.) It also explains (in part) the decline of many of the more theologically liberal churches in the United States. Once churches stop keeping belief in God central, they unravel the foundation upon which they stand. This effect is similar to this thought from Eliezer Yudkowsky regarding science (HT Jane Galt):
If you stepped into a world where matches failed to strike, you would cease to exist as organized matter.
Reality is laced together a lot more tightly than humans might like to believe.
In this context, Yurdkowsky is speaking of the interrelatedness of scientific theories. Many theological beliefs interconnect in a similar way. If you reject the core belief of God, the rest of a religion will inadvertently come crashing down.
Acts of Faith is an excellent read and highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the study of religion.
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