`Rethinking Religions'

By TNN, *'Religion won't be the same in 50 years'* - The Times Of India - India
Sunday, September 27, 2009

Bangalore: In 50 years, religion will not be the same. Its present form will be completely unrecognizable, given the rapid change brought about by information society, MP Arun Shourie said on Saturday.

He was speaking at the Rotary House of Friendship on `Rethinking Religions'.

"Religion as we know it will not be the same in 50 years. There has been a rapid democratization of the world. The world is a much smaller place. The pronouncements of religions can therefore not remain the same," he said.

However, he added that universal standards of secularism will be maintained all over the world. "No country which hurts its minorities will be able to say it is a sovereign country. The world has begun to apply similar standards for all. It is becoming a duty for governments to protect minorities. There will be no exceptions."

Shourie said some notions central to religion will not survive the future. "We live in a time where getting to know each other is easy. You have to stay with the times or you'll be left behind."

He also spoke on different aspects of Islam, Hinduism, Sufism, Christianity and the changes in them.

[Picture from http://arunshourie.voiceofdharma.com/]