[abc:)]

I'd just like to start by saying that personally I'm not religious, but I wouldn't like to live forever. HOWEVER I am open to any opinions or thoughts on this.

If there were some kind of method developed whereby people could live forever, and, hypothetically, (because I know that even if this were developed it doesn't necessarily mean people would use it) if it started being used, so that many or most people were living forever, what do you think would happen to religion?

Could the idea of an afterlife become redundant?

Would religious people look at scientifically created immortality as a sin?

Would people be divided between those who want to be immortal via science, and those who want to be immortal via an afterlife?

Would there be some kind of reconciliation between the two, whereby people could see it as something that was meant to happen so that God can allow us to live forever?

I'm interested to hear any thoughts on this

[rac1]

It's never gonna happen

[jumpingjesusholycow]

I'm not exactly sure by what rules immortality would work. Would human beings not need to eat anymore? What about fuel/energy consumption etc? Because if so, we'd quite quickly run out of resources, overpopulate the planet and turn this rock we call Earth into a baron wasteland, most likely taking down any number of other species with us into extinction.

I know that doesn't have to do with religion, but even hypothetically the question makes little sense

[EonBlueApocalypse]

I'd imagine it would soon die out since fear of death whether people would like to admit it or even consciously realize it is the main reason people adopt a faith.

[Josh93]

I think some spiritualistic religions would survive and perhaps even prosper but the Abrahamic religions would initially fervently oppose it and would eventually die out.

This is however only plausible if humanity was able to colonise several other planets besides Earth and harness energy levels far beyond our current capabilities (stars basically). By the time we start colonising other planets and tapping into stars directly for power I imagine that most religions would have gone by the by anyway.

[tazarooni89]

I don't think immortality is possible, no matter how many scientific advances we make. Sure, you might eradicate all diseases and prevent people from dying of old age etc. But the fact is, if you throw someone in front of a moving bus, or drop an A-bomb on them, or otherwise physically destroy their brains and/or bodies. they're going to die. And the longer a person stays alive, the more likely it is that something like this will happen at some point in their life (as per the 'infinite monkey theorem').

There's no getting round the fact that people can potentially die, and certainly will die one day.

[Darth Stewie]

If a technique that could literally allow people to become immortal (as in they couldn't die from trauma, illness or age) was ever developed to the point where everyone can have it done i highly doubt many people would choose not to have the procedure because of their religious beliefs, if all religious people actually did have complete faith in their chosen god and afterlife we would be living in a very different world.

As for what would happen to religion as a concept it really depends on the importance of an afterlife which is not really something we will ever know until the threat of death is removed however i would imagine religions would still be around albeit in a very different form than we have now.

But no i don't think there would be much of a divide, I'm sure some very devout people would opt for death but they would by far be in the minority.