What will people believe in 20 years from now?
How do you believe?
About: We have three perspectives: believing what we see, believing what has actually happened, and believing we can make a difference.
There are so many things we can believe in: systems, religions, philosophies, our own selves, … I wonder if and how people’s beliefs might evolve 20 years from now. I included the following question in my Future2043 survey:
“Will religions and belief systems survive as they are today, or will they either disappear or become radically different?”
I believe strongly in the wisdom of crowds, so I’m including a selection of the wide range of answers I got to the question above. There is a wide range (often contradictory) of what we will believe in 20 years from now: more spiritual and humanist, more entrenched and conflictual, less relevant than today, necessary for humanity, global to unite us.
But first, let’s take a quick look at how some science fiction writers interpreted “belief”. (Photo by Russ Collins from Jules Verne special show at the Carrières de Lumières at Les Baux-de-Provence in France.)
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Believe it if you can see it
“The Toynbee Convector” Ray Bradbury
In the “The Toynbee Convector”, short story written in 1984 by Ray Bradbury, we discover “the need for belief in something in order to make progress, even if what we believe in does not exist”. The story recounts a time traveler who has returned from the future, and has visual and other evidence that our future civilization was advanced with new, useful inventions and a restored planetary health.
No spoilers here, but the creative solution the time traveler devised to convince people that it was worth fighting for a better future is ingenious. And it worked! A short story you’ll never forget.
Believe it when it happens
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks
Max Brooks in World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, his long, fascinating novel about what happens around the world when zombies invade, says this about beliefs:
“Most people don’t believe something can happen until it already has . That’s not stupidity or weakness , that’s just human nature.”
His novel is a series of interviews and personal stories from people around the world, survivors of a plague triggered by zombies. Among the multitude of ideas and themes in the novel is the shortsightedness of humanity. People react when it is too late.
Belief that we can make a difference, or is it too late?
“An Incomplete Timeline of What We Tried”, Debbie Urbanski
Waiting until it’s too late is the theme of “An Incomplete Timeline of What We Tried”, an amazing short story by Debbie Urbanski. Note the past tense in her title: “what we tried”. It is a series of short phrases, starting in the present (our future) then backing up to the past (our present).
The first line of the story: “Human extinction.” Is where she says we will end up. The last line: “Turn off the lights when you are no longer in the room” is where we started from a few years ago when we became aware of climate change and the need to preserve resources.
The story highlights many things humans have tried, none of which made a difference in the end. READ THIS STORY. If you’re like me, you’ll recognize yourself in many of her phrases.
How will belief systems change by 2043?
New and unknown today
Will science play a role? AI? Awareness of non-human intelligence? The range of visions for 2043 is large. Several participants think religions do not suit new needs of today.
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- Religions will survive as they offer crucial value for human beings’ emotion needs, but definitely not in the form of today. Human beings like new things which fits better the new needs. China
- A global universal humanity will prevail. Abrahamic religions will take a back seat as science and connectivity showcase their falsehoods. India
- Religions will not disappear but will get a different meaning. The gods of creation will fade away, churches getting emptier. I expect to have science prove the cause of our existence sometime soon, as well as other forms of life out there. People will find something else to believe until proven otherwise. Netherlands
- AI will replace religion in some ways I think. Performing ‘miracles’ working in ways humans can’t comprehend and understand. Faith in an Advanced AI might be a thing.
- I see religions diminish in impact and hope that some other forms of beliefs will surface that will enable to better respect nature overall. France
- More people will seek spirituality. Traditional religions will be diminished. New more eclectic approaches to religion will appear. Brazil
- The knowledge that non-human intelligence exists and is here will become widely known, and religions will either appropriate this into their belief systems or reject it and become cult like. Technology advances such as brain implants will also be challenged by religions. United States
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More spiritual, humanist
Religions have left many people lacking in spiritual satisfaction. As a survey participant based in India explained: “Religion has the power to bring people together and heal old wounds. Instead, we see, more often than not, its corrosive, divisive face. Spirituality (often misunderstood as religion) will provide the depth and understanding that we need.”
The word “spiritual” came up often. Will this be different in 20 years?
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- As people know and understand more, religion will become more nuanced. People can no longer be kept stupid or told a story. Religion will still be there, but more from a humanistic approach. Also more respect and attention to differences. Netherlands
- I hope organized religion plays less of a role in the future and true spirituality takes over. India
- Many humans will reject religious institutions while becoming more sensitive to faith and value systems. They will shift towards a more active role in selecting their value set and enforcing it. However, this will enhance the tensions and reactions with and within traditional cults. United Arab Emirates
- Traditional religion, churchgoing is already on the decline and will continue that way, I hope we see a return to the eastern traditions such as Karma. Ireland
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More entrenched, more conflict
Ironically, belief systems underlie and even trigger hostilities, conflicts and sometimes wars. Will “Our god is better than yours” continue as today?
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- Not only it will survive as it is today, but it will be also one of the key reasons of the global conflict. Czech Republic
- Tribalism will increase. Truth will have been replaced by “guided perception”. Indonesia
- Religions will become radically different on the verge of fanatic beliefs undermining living in harmony as a species. Our god is better than yours, therefore you must die, will become a mantra by most religions and sects out there. A radicalization of our superstitious beliefs will become the new religions. A European Union staff member
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Less relevant
Will religions and belief systems be less relevant to people today than in the past. They are taking a “back seat”.
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- Religions and belief will disappear, because even today many are spending time searching more their lives than God. They have no time. Rwanda
- Religion will slowly take a back seat and become less and less relevant but therefore have more polarization with the believers. Canada
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Necessary for humanity
Humanity needs belief systems even if they are no longer the same as in the past. This gives them “stories and hope”.
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- Belief systems will survive and evolve. People need stories and hope. Netherlands
- We need our beliefs. People need beliefs. While their names and groupings might change, hopefully with more tolerance. Would be wonderful. Switzerland
- I believe religion and spiritual beliefs will play an increasingly important part of our lives. United States
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Global to unite us
Will belief systems unite people across the world? Can they augment peace?
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- Because of the male hierarchy of the major religions and the failure of the hierarchies to be helpful in modern life, religions are outdated. My fondest hope is that something like a global brain (Teilhard de Chardin) will emerge once we figure out how to grow beyond filter bubbles. But organized religion as we know it from Christianity, Judaism, Muslim etc. is doomed. United States
- I do not believe religion can remain as is .. we will need to come to some form of consensus to unite and move to one world governance .. we need peace first rather than radicals. Australia
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Will influencers and politicians be our new religious leaders?
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Influencers seem to provoke considerable inspiration. Especially among young people. Politicians on the other hand trigger blind devotion from their followers. Are these examples of what people today believe in? Will it increase over the next 20 years? It sometimes seems so. This state of affairs will not lead to anything good in the long run. By 2043, I hope that influencers who have little to say of real interest, and politicians who have far too much to say of little interest to the public good will be less influential on people’s minds and actions than they are today. |
References
The three science fiction works referred to in this article. The quotes above are from people who participated in the Future2043 survey.
“The Toynbee Convector” story by Ray Bradbury
We learn that the convector, a special time machine, was named after Toynbee, “that fine historian who said any group, any race, any world that did not run to seize the future and shape it was doomed to dust away to the grave, in the past.” The creator of the machine used it to move into the future and see an advanced civilization. I’ll stop here because it’s hard to say more without spoiling it for new readers….more….
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, novel by Max Brooks
Max Brooks in World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, his long, fascinating novel about what happens around the world after a zombies plague. It is a collection of accounts told after the plague. There are eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Tide”, “Home Front USA”, “Around the World, and Above”, “Total War”, and “Good-Byes”. It is a engrossing novel that pulls you into “worlds around the world”. world war Z was on the New York Times best seller list for several weeks and sold over one millions copies worldwide.
“An Incomplete Timeline of What We Tried”, story by Debbie Urbanski
Urbanski works back from human extinction. Every line in this uniquely styled story is familiar to us today. Read it to find out why. https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwvgeq/an-incomplete-timeline-of-what-we-tried
Cory Doctorow describes her work is a ‘superb science fiction story in the form of a list of failed attempts to stave off climate extinction” at https://boingboing.net/2017/12/19/dystopian-listicles.html
