It is innate in us, we seem to need religion, I doubt we can escape it any more than we can escape racism, sexism, tribalism, fear . . . . . .
And even if we could get passed this stage in our growth - I can't see us doing it before we reach the bottle neck where bronze age mythology squeezes passed the technology that can realise it's peak fantasy.
The religions have a stranglehold with the whole life after death thing, once it's accepted that this is it and there's nothing after then we might be able to move forward.
I once had a conversation with a fundamentalist Christian who believed that unless you accepted Jesus, no matter how virtuous your life, you would burn in hell when you died. I asked about people who lead virtous lives, who have not heard of Jesus and Christianity, and she told me that's what missonaries are for....
Should also be noted she went to see preachers at those big stadium gigs they do, and gave a perecentage of her income to one of them
The religions have a stranglehold with the whole life after death thing, once it's accepted that this is it and there's nothing after then we might be able to move forward.
I once had a conversation with a fundamentalist Christian who believed that unless you accepted Jesus, no matter how virtuous your life, you would burn in hell when you died. I asked about people who lead virtous lives, who have not heard of Jesus and Christianity, and she told me that's what missonaries are for....
Should also be noted she went to see preachers at those big stadium gigs they do, and gave a perecentage of her income to one of them