2090

2090

Religion is fading from European culture
In some European nations, the number of people considering themselves to be non-religious has increased from around 30% in 1980, to over 90% now.* Although large numbers of Muslims populate the continent, a substantial portion are now only "culturally" Muslim, rather than having a literal interpretation of the Koran. Mainstream Islam has begun a reformation and modernisation in recent years aided by vast improvements in education, combined with the broad homogenisation of culture resulting from globalisation, the Internet, various international agreements and other factors.
Medical advances are undermining religion as a whole, by greatly diminishing the fear of death, while developments in AI, robotics and biotechnology are beginning to trivialise the miracles on which many ancient religions are based. The increasing presence of androids in society – along with other forms of sentience – is adding a whole new dimension to the way humans view themselves and their place in the Universe. The ability to communicate with certain artificially enhanced animals (such as dolphins, monkeys and domestic pets) is also contributing to this trend.

Spirituality continues to play a role in European cultures but is now based more on nature and physical reality, rather than myths, dogma or supernatural forces.
The USA still lags far behind Europe in terms of atheistic belief, however. It will be another century before America reaches the same level; even longer for certain parts of Asia. Even then, a small percentage of citizens will continue to worship a God (or Gods), well into the next millennium. These people will tend to be those who reject science and technology, or have purposefully chosen to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.