In week 4 we continued with the development of the project. Someone found an interesting statistic about the decline of religion in the future. We discussed the role of religion in society and what might be lost (see above record of tutorial discussion). We also discussed Alain de Botton's 'Religion for Atheists' as a possible direction for Woodfordia in the event of a major decline in religion in Australia in the future:
"Religion for Atheists suggests that rather than mocking religions, agnostics and atheists should instead steal from them – because they're packed with good ideas on how we might live and arrange our societies. Blending deep respect with total impiety, Alain proposes that we should look to religions for insights into, among other concerns, how to:
- build a sense of community
- make our relationships last
- overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy
- escape the twenty-four hour media
- go travelling
- get more out of art, architecture and music
- and create new businesses designed to address our emotional needs.
For too long non-believers have faced a stark choice between either swallowing lots of peculiar doctrines or doing away with a range of consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas. " http://www.alaindebotton.com/Religion.aspArchitectural opportunities from this concept that we discussed included:
- secular temple
- spiritual refuge (reaction to technology)
- a site of pilgrimage for people who want to connect with others and the environment(similar to how people continually return year after year to the Woodford Folk Festival - 70% are return visitors)
More research was needed on the statistics as different religions are following different trends.
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