The world is facing dramatic changes that signal the end of the old era and the dawn of a new one. Economics, the environment, our energy supplies, access to food and water are all in question and in this transition period our faith, ethics, religion and spirituality will become more important than ever. Many fear the transition we are undergoing. But renowned futurologist Adjiedj Bakas and journalist Minne Buwalda show us in this book, that we now have the potential to reinvent ourselves and our world, and to renew our spiritual base. They show us how we can utilize technology, knowledge systems, and social networks to seize the change and create ever more fulfilling spiritual lives. The Future of Faith reveals seven major developments which will influence the religious and spiritual lives of us all. Bakas and Buwalda show how, by understanding these changes, businesses and individuals can look forward to a brighter future. The first decade of the twenty-first century is now behind us. Those ten years were troublesome, with a major economic crisis and growing worldwide tensions between religious and cultural groups. Perhaps they were lost years: a decade of farewell to the twentieth century and preparation for the twenty-first century, which can now really get under way.The new century is promising to be even more technology-driven than the last was; as a result, people are becoming increasingly insecure about where humanity is heading. In general, people think that a technological world will automatically be a cold and de-spiritualized one, but that is not necessarily the case. In one of the most technology-driven places on Earth, Silicon Valley, a young scientist told us: “I don’t believe in God anymore, but I do miss him. Within a couple of years computers will be smarter than humans. Within twenty years the first robot will win the Nobel Prize. Where will humanity end up, if all of this continues to expand?” During the twentieth century globalization transformed our world into one big global village. For some people, the cosmopolitans of the world, this is a great development that offers many opportunities. They are happy with the global society and its broad assortment of cultures, beliefs and religious expressions, content to pick whatever suits them. But there are also a lot of people who feel threatened by globalization. For them the world seems to have become too big, too obscure and too chaotic.
Watch the movie "The Future of Faith" on YouTube.
