Let's go back to the very beginning.
Well not the very beginning; let's go to the Roman Empire.
The Romans had a god or goddess for everything they couldn't explain. And since science was rather nonexistent back then, there were few things the Romans could explain without slapping the metaphorical Divine Intervention sticker on it and calling a day. Around half-past a long time ago, Christianity/Judaism/Islam came about. This simplified much by narrowing it down to one god, aptly named "God" (Allah, Yahweh, Morgan Freeman, etc.), and saying that every phenomenon that could not be explained was an act of his divine will.
"Well okay," said everyone, "I can roll with that."
Then Galileo sauntered in, and he said, "Hmm... nah."
So he researched.
And researched.
And he finally came to the conclusion: "Hey, the earth revolves around the sun!"
Now the Pope caught wind of this, and he went over to Galileo's house and said, "Hey man, quit. You're making me look bad."
Galileo, being the bold motherforgeter he was, didn't quit. He got arrested and starting throwing balls out of the Leaning Tower.
After a few centuries of much the same silliness, modern science was born.
Now to lean away from this comical bullstuff.
Skip forward about 423 years, and you'll find that science, while not very advanced in the grand scheme of things, has achieved about enough to put God out of business. We found out that he likely didn't create the universe, and that he likely doesn't even exist. The Big Bang theory (love that show) came about, and the die-hard Creationists stuck to their guns. Charles Darwin came up with the theory of evolution, and still they stuck to their guns. In the Information Age, where anything you could want to know about anything is just a click away, where the entire history of science can be found on one website, they stick to their guns.
What's the logic in accepting something that cannot be scientifically proven, and shunning something that can be?
Spiritual fulfillment cannot be a factor. Can the same fulfillment not be found in science? I mean, how is this fulfillment found in something that is not known to be 100% pure, unbiased, proven scientific fact? Somebody help me with this.
I for one could not take comfort in the fact that a malevolent god watches over us constantly, forcing us to do his will. I am the architect of my own destiny, and that comforts me.
I'm not angry that people find comfort in religion, it just fascinates me that, in the face of scientific fact and viable proof, there are billions of people who believe in an archaic representation of humanity's fear of the unknown. And yes, we're still just taking our baby steps into the universe, but we'll get to the point at which a higher power is no longer needed, having scientifically proven everything that can be proven.
And I have to wonder, will there still be religion?
Notes:
-Philosophy is not the same as science, in case you didn't know
-Please don't start anything. I'm just curious.
-Sorry if my history isn't quite accurate; that's not the crux of the thread anyway
