Once I chatted about religion with Norton, Suldair and Willie.
I said: "Religion significantly influences us on Earth. Our primary religions include Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. Are there gods, Buddhas, or divine entities in the universe? If so, where might they reside? Does your planet, Guoker, have any religions? If yes, what kinds are they, and how influential are they on your society?"
Suldair replied decisively, "There are no gods or Buddhas in the universe. Those are mere fabrications by you Earthlings. We do not have any religion on Guoker."
Norton added, "While our planet was not technologically advanced in its early days, we did have religions for a long period. Nowadays, religion has been marginalized on our planet, nearly fading away completely. It's seldom mentioned and exists only in our history and memory." "Science and religion both stem from human cognition—science from rational inquiry and religion from intuitive belief. Science arises from curiosity about the unknown, while religion originates from fear of it. In the primitive and undeveloped times of Guoker, just as with early Earth, people felt terrorized and powerless in the face of natural disasters such as thunderstorms, floods, hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, as well as the inevitabilities of disease, aging, and death. Facing the brutal attacks and slaughter from their own kind, they felt too weak to control their destinies, leading to fear and helplessness. In these times, they invented omnipotent gods for protection and comfort, thus giving birth to religion. In those primitive societies, people's understanding of nature was minimal and superficial, leading to a pervasive fear of the natural world, where the power of religion was strong and the presence of science, weak.
Religion is a cognition generated by fear and helplessness. In the beginning of Earth human history, religion wasn't differentiated from science. Later as Earth humans developed their cognition deeper and broader in variety, science was separated from religion and developed in the opposite direction. As people knew better about Nature, science became increasingly powerful as scientific cognition grew deeper and broader in scope, and religion was constantly weakened with religious cognition shrinking its scope. The explanations of the world, the Universe, life and society by religion were increasingly childish and ridiculous to people, whereas logic, definition and quantitative analysis from science grew increasingly convincing for them.
We have cracked the mystery of the core of the Universe - space. Immediately, the Universe revealed all its core secrets. As we knew better about the essence of space, time and field, we now fully control the core secrets of the universe, and any sense of awe towards the mysterious universe has completely disappeared among us. It can be said that as long as there is death, religion will not cease to exist. However, we have mastered the technology of immortality; our people no longer face the fear of death and completely control their own destinies. This is the key factor behind the disappearance of religion on our planet and is also the major trend in the development of all planets with intelligent beings throughout the universe—a trend that is irreversible. The futures of our planet and yours are the same.
Some people believe that highly advanced planets in the universe have powerful religions capable of controlling people's thoughts and restraining their behavior. However, such claims are unreliable. Our observations of many highly civilized planets across the universe have shown that on highly advanced planets, where science is extremely developed, the influence of religion is negligible. There is no concurrent development of science and religion; they are contradictory and oppositional.
On planets like Guoker, which boast highly advanced technology, people can create their own bodies, achieve immortality, and even replace their physical forms with light, becoming virtual entities. We can cure any disease instantaneously. These planets possess powerful scientific and technological capabilities. With such advancements, the need for physical and mental labor is largely replaced by artificial intelligence, making the acquisition of material wealth and energy incredibly easy. People have no need to compete for materials, wealth, or energy. Advanced planets can satisfy all human desires, both noble and nefarious, through their formidable scientific and technological prowess, eliminating the need for moral, legal, or religious constraints.
On Earth, people are encouraged to fulfill their normal desires through labor and technology, while only moral, legal, and religious systems can curb their malevolent impulses. For instance, if an adult male desires to molest a young girl on Earth, this impulse is restrained through morality, law, and religion. In contrast, on our planet, highly realistic virtual sex games have been developed to fulfill such desires without distinction from reality, as perceived by all sensory organs. We also have various other hyper-realistic virtual reality games, including regal and combat simulations, that cater to a wide array of desires, both benign and malevolent.
Our ability to convert one substance into another effortlessly with artificial field technology means that on our planet, precious metals and jewels, which are highly valued on Earth, are as common as dirt and worthless. Thus, there is no conflict over such commodities, a stark contrast to Earth. Earth relies on moral and legal systems to regulate both normal and evil human desires due to limited resources and energy, which cannot satisfy everyone's whims. When these systems fail, religion often steps in to restrain both good and evil impulses. On our planet, however, advanced technology is used to fulfill desires, not to restrain them, rendering religion utterly obsolete in curbing evil impulses.
Understanding the universe and nature, we can grasp the profound mysteries of the cosmos and control our destinies. We harbor no fear of death or disease, no worries about illness, no need to struggle for material wealth, and no fear of brutal conflicts among ourselves. The fundamental conditions that give rise to religion—fear, and its function to suppress desires—are completely absent on our planet, explaining why religion is thoroughly marginalized and seldom mentioned.
Historically, the power of religion on Earth has been strong and enduring, accompanying and influencing humanity since the dawn of primitive society. However, on Earth, the influence of religion is waning, and the future does not foresee influential religious leaders who could sway the thoughts of Earth's people. The impact of religious leaders has diminished, and people have lost interest in them, no longer venerating them excessively. Instead, they regard scientific luminaries almost as deities, due to the extensive knowledge accumulated about the natural world. The future will likely see significant scientific discoveries and great scientists as the most influential forces on Earth. It can be predicted that religion will increasingly be marginalized and replaced by science, as science demonstrates its power more profoundly.
Another function of religion is to resolve confusion, which will also be overtaken by science, as our understanding has revealed all the secrets of the universe, leaving the superficial, naive, and intuitively derived explanations of religion believed by no one."