People Don't Want Freedom, They Want Community

I... believe that a world without religions is probably not realistic. As long as there are those who do not know something, and wish to know it, and others who believe they know something, and wish to use that knowledge to extert power over those that don't, we will have some form of religion, in my opinion. Yes, this is pessimistic, but also supported by our history as a sapient race.
It is no accident that medicine men (and women) were generally the most powerful (feared, respected) people in their tribes. They simply acted like they knew something (and many did) and used that knowledge to their advantage. Even if another tribal leader managed to rid themselves of such a person, another would quickly come to fill that power vacuum in their society.
I have maintained for some time that humans don't want freedom - freedom is not a natural state. Instead we want community, and with that community comes conformity, stratification, and power flows. None of that is freedom - we want both leadership and we want to lead. Balancing those desires is critical to our own happiness. The role of religion (or even, more widely considered, tradition) is the institution of that balance in such a way that a society/group can function. Dysfunctional societies die out, better functioning societies live on until they succumb to eventual dysfunction. This is just evolutionary maxims working on a societal level.
The rules and morals, even the music, magic, dance - all of that is part of the community, and works as a vehicle to move the community forward (or not, in a dysfunctional community).
So instead of looking for personal freedom, or even individual enlightenment, perhaps it is better to look for ways to keep our communities from dysfunction, while still allowing the community to exist and grow.
Communities must also adapt - again, evolutionary maxims in play - and what we have with Abrahamic religion has become dysfunctional because of its inability to do that. What we are witnessing is the last gasps of some now dysfunctional communities. The new community and "religion" that could replace those may be science and technology - but make no mistake, it will still exist in the same way, with those who do not know things wishing to be led by those who believe they know things, and those who believe they know things exerting power and extorting those would follow them."
-Author Unknown.
Category:Deist Topics