23th inc

The Future of Faith: Exploring the evolution of spiritual thought.


Background.

The emergence of spiritual thought and its evolution has been studied. From a seemingly pantheistic unity, the idea of interconnectedness was prevalent and throughout the evolution of hominins, hominids, et al. After the last interglacial period nascent beliefs, in the form of ‘wise ones,’ or ‘those who know,’ had no apparent uniformity. The established religious beliefs, of which the majority remain, came about some 6-7000ya,  whereby cultures developed deities, “in our image.” Since the established religions have progressed, there have been cultures and empires which utilise religion as a means to govern and unite civilisations.
  In the previous thousand years, little or no change has occurred in the major religions, save breakaway denominations and the proliferation of texts, whether pseudepigrapha or otherwise.
  A resurgence of interest in the spiritual, arcane and what ports to be shamanic-like beliefs, at the turn of the twentieth century, sparked interest in hallucinogenics which has been propagated by intellectuals and social philosophies, such as the psychedelic movement between 1960s & 1970s.
  Amidst subtle and gross changes across time the idea of interconnectedness, a natural, pantheistic unity has been preserved throughout, predominantly saved by the pre-Vedic texts, which weave a tapestry of philosophies from an age ‘unknown’ to us. The rise and study of quantum physics has accelerated these ideas bringing a ‘New Age’ movement in the late 20th century. This is the first catalyst of spiritual ideologies transforming within a contemporary time frame. We are at a point in time, where for the first time, active chronicles witness the metamorphosis of belief.

The Present.

Being aware of the evolution of beliefs allows us to understand what potential changes will occur. With this in mind, it is understood that the rise of artificial intelligence, virtual realities and the growth of understanding quantum physics, will give rise to esoteric beliefs in the context of social media.
  Pockets occupying virtual environments, are growing and virtual communities will rise. This could lead to cult like groups emerging, yet it is suspected that many will not sustain their growth and collapse in to a greater movement, leading us to a new belief system which integrates natural phenomena, quantum physics, spiritual ideas and propagates a new major religion, currently termed as Quantum Spirituality.

 
 
The Future.

Faith, in the future, will essentially be the same in essence. The VR & AI technologies will lend themselves to escapist ideologies, which when combined with beliefs, will ostensibly form the aforementioned, cult-like groups. To reiterate, the nascent Quantum Spirituality which is emerging, will rise to rival major religions. This would also indicate a growth towards this in the western world, with the east remaining with predominantly traditional Abramic, Zoroastrian, Islamic & Buddhist ideals.
  Equally, it will mean that seasons of revival will occur within Abramic religions, which have the potential to spark small wars. These conflicts will also provide indicators of swaying political and religious trends, which are traditionally represented in media.

After considering these issues, it is understood that smaller religions, like the Yazidi, will disappear, which is a cultural loss to the world. Therefore I believe that there should be an agency developed to protect and preserve cultural and religious ways. Similar in style to heritage sites which are maintained by the United Nations, I firmly believe that minority cultures and religions should be protected, otherwise they will disappear from history. The same agency should also produce copies of original texts and documents to be preserved for posterity. A prime directive of noninteraction with tribal cultures and closed communities would be part of this agency, protecting landscapes and environments intrinsic to how indigenous people’s exist. Likewise, rare ecosystems would also be protected under the remit of the agency, thus protecting cultural, spiritual and natural diversity, for it is frequently the case that environment shapes ideologies and beliefs.*

Equally, in the field of quantum physics, the discovery of the universe’s mechanics will accelerate due to warfare, revealing that what we call, ‘God’ or the cosmos, is actually a
“(SQE) Single Quantum Entity, whose reality is experienced as us; a collective, cosmic consciousness, that is uncreate, from which reality is a transactional experience, existing for a moment of conformity to experiencers.”
  This would run parallel to spiritual development – from oneness and animism, to shamanism, leading ultimately to ‘civilised’ religions then to the future ‘quantum spirituality’ that will eventually evolve. This discovery will fuel apocalyptic rumour, seemingly unveiling what was ‘hidden.’


Conclusion.

As previously mentioned, for the first time in recorded history, we will observe the rise of a new belief system, Quantum Spirituality. It will enable humanity to see how geopolitical, cultural and external influences influence the growth of a nascent, syncretic belief. With this, comes also a responsibility to ensure smaller cultures and religions are preserved.
  It is our duty to observe, not interfere and preserve indigenous tribes, and sustain smaller spiritual communities, leaving them untouched by civilised hands. The recommendation of an agency to be set up and perform such duties has been made within this document.
  The utility of social media has evolved in the late 20th century and now dominates contemporary, western society. With the rise of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, monitoring of such is a necessity alongside social media (which is expected to incorporate both AI & IR in the near future), to gauge how events are interpreted, and the impact of such events on communities.

Given the complexity of world events at this time, Autumn 2024, many from the Abramic beliefs will seek to comprehend and reconcile world events with eschatology and what appears to be the ‘rapture.’ When combined with the aforementioned concerns, it will bring concern regarding those who promote the use of psychedelics.
  The reason for concern is due to believers mistaking escape to virtual reality, and the use AI, to the ‘migration of souls’ to the afterlife. Large doses of psychedelic compounds, when combined with this mistaken idea would cause the deaths of many. This would inadvertently give rise to a ‘rapture’ myth in the future, which would be out of context with apocalyptic writings of known major faiths, which can be ambiguous. Inasmuch as we know there is “an end,” the believers will have fulfilled their own prophecy, as opposed to a scriptural one.

These are the items of concern for the future of faith.
 

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23th inc.

* [Sustaining beliefs of localised communities means, looking after the environment and ecosystem, especially in the case of tribes.]