a great question indeed,
sigmund freud(who was atheist i believe) would argue that it is an illusion that people use as a function to stay positive about life, if things are down, pray, go to a fellowship,
many people use religioin as a function, whether it be for social support, comfort, impression management, etc
religion now seemingly has manifested itself as an institution that makes the rules, as a justification for everything,
why is something wrong? because the bible says so, however, the bible is still up for interepretation and unfortunately some passages have been taken literally by the authorities and has been etched in stone as a justification for certain laws,
the debate about gay marriage, for instance, probably stems mostly from religious presuppositions; there are numerous passages in the bible that bring up homosexuality, one in romans talks about certain people that worshiped idols and how they became homosexuals, so it can be easy to interprete that the bible is trying to communicate that all homosexuals are sinners that worship idols, its absurd to assume that all homosexuals worship idols,
i believe in god, sometimes i don't know why, i have gotten myself to pray everyday and i honestly have to say it gives me a sense of reassurance, there is this vastness about the world that makes me think there is more to life than a finite existence as a human being on earth, i remember times when i was more religious than other times and i remember the confidence it gave me,
what i am struggling with is the passage of time in light of all this relgious stuff, how did these stories make it all the way from supposedly 2 thousand years ago, and why does it still seem beleivable in spite of all the discoveries that science has revealed suggesting that the world is not a mere 4000 years old?
i would like to convince myself that i believe in god not just because my parents raised me that way, sometimes i feel like the only way i can truly say that i believe in god is if i was not raised to be religious at all, thus my discovery of god would be due to my own initiative rather than my parent
i believe that relgion is more than a mere function, but sometimes i have my doubts
freud does sound very reasonable with his argument about religion being an illusion, nevertheless, i will continue to pray