This talk will provide a personal account of religion and God, with a nod to Ray Billington and the Wycombe philosophers who used to meet in the Swan in West Wycombe on Wednesday evenings. This talk will examine the features of religion that can be both positive and negative, and will range from classical to modern, trying to cover the main messages from Armstrong, Dennett, Baggini, Dawkins, Billington, Spinoza, Hitchins, Clarke, Ambalu, Beaver, Bowker, Breuilly, de Botton, Gray, Hannam, Midgely, Richards, Robertson and Wilson, amongst others.
So, what is a religion and why do people across the World adopt religions? How have I changed in my response to religion from child to adolescent to adult? In his book “Religion without God” Ray Billington examined the nature of religions and the similarities and differences across the world.
He postulated a religion without the need for a God and cited Buddhism as an example. I will look at whether this is possible. Will we need religions in the future?