That’s precisely why I put this in Great Debates; I don’t think there would be any one answer, even within a single faith. Schisms would certainly result, but I don’t know enough about specific religious teachings to say where or how.
Regarding virtual reality: the Islamic reaction to the cartoons portraying the prophet Muhammed are very telling, as are the reactions of Christians and Catholics to such artistic wonders as the Virgin Mary painted in elephant dung. Many people seem to consider the symbol of the religious item as holy as the actual item (the cross, the crescent, the prophet, the book).
According to the hajj, every Muslim man who can afford it is expected to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his lifetime. Does this mean Muslims would not be interested in space colonization? Would devout Muslims never leave the earth? I suspect not. Of those who do venture into space, presumably at first the least wealthy who have little to leave behind, they would be more broad-minded about it; they might be satisfied with a virtual reality pilgrimage that takes less time and/or fuel. Barring a simulation of Mecca, they might enjoy a full-sensory recording of someone else’s actual pilgrimage. This would (to me) be consistent with the idea that the symbol of the thing is as powerful as the thing itself.
The Muslim world wouldn’t believe that now, of course; they would insist upon the real city, if only because there are no alternatives. (I’m sure Mecca does big business too.) In 500 years’ time, possibly throwing the vast distances between space colonies into the mix, the rule might become more flexible.
By virtual immortality I mean there is premature death and events of an unfortunate or tragic nature, but so long as you can download a copy of your mind into a clone (or android or cyborg) body, there’s no practical limit to lifespan provided the technology holds out. At first I’m relatively certain that this would only be practiced by the wealthiest people but the technology probably would trickle down to the middle class. This makes me suspect that Heaven becomes less about eternal life and more about justice and perfection.
In particular, I think Buddhists and Hindu would be all oooovvvver the idea that you could download your mind into a new body, when the body became old. Reincarnation made real.
See, I’m thinking that Buddhists would like this one too: eventually you could give up the pleasures of the body and live entirely as a digital construct. There would certainly be some societies that would find it terribly convenient to believe that a digitized human mind still has a human soul with full human rights. Some wouldn’t, of course.
Well, I believe certain things would still be sinful, according to certain sects. Coveting your neighbor’s stuff might be one of those, because that appears more to be a crime of mind. Sex for pleasure is a difficult one to answer, however, since although you think you’re having sex, you aren’t actually. You aren’t an onanist — spilling your seed on the ground, so to speak.
I imagine the religions will adjust their philosophy to believe whatever is most convenient at the time. If clone bodies are used to preserve the lives of the already-living — for instance, if you clone only a liver to use as transplant — then they would unquestionably be property. I fully believe the technology to clone a human being will arrive far sooner than the ability to digitize a human mind or surgically transplant a human brain; therefore that question will be answered first, and later questions will depend upon it.
It may be my cynicism, but I tend to think that people, being flawed, tend to interpret dogma that is in their own self-interest and justify it later. “Does this help me live another 50 years? Then it’s okay.”
Oh, definitely. Once again, I thing pragmatism plays a part. “Can I live forever this way? Then I guess God approves.”
I’m sure this would be the source of a huge schism in the church. Consider it: when you get a digital backup of your brain made, you still die. The copy of your brain thinks that it’s you, so it thinks it is immortal. Nevertheless, you still experience death. I foresee the biggest objection to digitally duplicating minds is letting two duplicates run simultaneously.
Assuming the aliens had a religion. I rather think that any intelligent race would probably have some baser instincts lodged in the deeper parts of its brain, behaviors that were automatic and inexplicable, that might serve as the source for a religion. It might also have ancient teachings from its prehistory that have evolved into a religious dogma. A great deal would depend on the presentation of the aliens; do they look like anything we can relate to?