Religion

I think you might be, maybe, overlooking the point I was making. Nationalism is what unites a group, and a group can be practically anything. You have to look beyond what is now, and into the what could be. I know, that sounds really Twilight Zone like, but hang with me for a minute. Religion is a means of uniting and dividing, it is those who follow against those who need to be made/encouraged to follow. Sound familiar?

That is what I am referring to. That which will always be around, and will readily replace traditional religion, if need be.

Keep something in mind. Religion does change, it may add and omit parts. Just take a look at Christianity and the various denominations. While God tends to remain the focus, with praising Jesus as an almost-equal expectation, before this, there was the worship of the Sun, as a provider and giver of life. This of course has gone from Sun to Son, and this is what I was getting at. Religion is representative of humanity's best intentions and worst actualities. Just like humanity, religion will adapt and evolve, and find a new form. I'm not saying religion will vanish (I never did say it would vanish, only change), but it won't look as we know it now. It'll be tweaked and incorporated into a new world, for whatever purposes, nefarious or genuine, they may be.

At the core, religion is simply a tale of morals and laws, two things that humanity will not necessarily give up. But while the 'idea of God' may vanish in centuries ahead, something else will take the 'idea of God''s place. Be it the latest technological gadget, a hobby, or even a clone of Scarlett Johansson as Supreme Empress of the United Earth. People won't just accept an empty and meaningless existence, well, most that is. There are exceptions, of course, but humanity is too vain and entitled to believe, their existence is without point, without a chance at achieving the next level.

Perhaps I think too much. I just know, I like to watch societal trends, and this is what I have observed and gathered.