Why Religion?

It is so strange to me conceptually that as a society we have not outgrown religion. Now- this isn't meant to put down anyone with a strong religious foundation or beliefs, but it is interesting to look at the developments in all areas of life such as science and tools yet religion remains. The concept may not seem to out of the ordinary because it is such a mundane part of human life, but religion was originally created with the intent of giving meaning and explanations to things humans couldn't understand, and it just kind of stuck. However, I want to know why. Why is it that we continue to believe in gods or a singular god, and why is it human nature to believe in a higher power? This also brings in the question of free will. I cannot prove or disprove anything, but thinking logically, back when religions were originally formed it was mainly due to things we could not yet understand begging explanations. For example, when planets were observed in space, they became associated with gods because it was something bigger than human.

To go off on a quick tangent here- the idea of religion to ease the fear of death is such a westernized concept. In many eastern and especially east asian religions, death is not feared but celebrated. So when considering the importance of religion and uses for it in society, consider that your viewpoint, your religion, and your personal religious upbringing is not a universal experience and that beliefs beyond your own exist, as well as thrive. In fact, if I were to follow any religion, I would be interested in Buddhism specifically because it is not a religion which was created to ease the pain and fear of dying. Westernized culture is not the only attitude and mindset to exist regarding death and life.

Anyways, I have a theory that if society is to achieve a utopian state, religion must be debunked. The reason for this is because to live harmoniously, we must all live by the same code of ethics, and ethics and morals are subjective and often are impacted by religion.

How do I think religion will be disbanded or disproved? I am not sure. I would love to be able to believe in something more than myself but scientific advances happen every day which push us further into a state of understanding what we truly are. Most recently, documents have been released discussing consciousness and existence in terms of energy, which was taken to prove that "actions" such as manifestation is true and works in the world using energetic vibrations. This is also supported by "every action has an equal and opposite reaction," but is also debunked by the idea of limited consciousness and the fact that your own thoughts can only be heard inside your own head.

However, we all exist as one entity with a cap on our individual consciousness. I am you, and you are me, because we are all made from the same energy passing around our universe or at least our small corner of it. There are only so many substances that can make up what we see as our world, which means in a way we are all melded together; mind, bone, flesh, dirt, water, fire. This brings in the idea if you were taught religion as a child that "god is within all of us, he is everywhere." This is the same concept of energy consciousness, and that the only reason why you have individual thoughts is because the nerves and synapses snapping in your head are contained in one space. However, the brain is not the limit of human consciousness, but just the vessel for keeping it concise and to create human beings as autonomous creatures. In a society where humans had full consciousness, everyones thoughts would exist in a cloud, and individuality would cease to exist.

This is all a huge tangent and just some food for thought, but why religion? Why do humans choose to believe in something that we cannot prove? Does it truly improve the quality of life, or is it just a distraction until death? Personally, I think that one day we might advance past a need for religion, and at that point the concept will seem antiquated just as many of the things that were believed before humans advanced in that area. More on this eventually, probably.