Kecubung
But what are your arguments for religion about, exactly? You've pointed out the what you thought as the net positive contributions that religion has added to the history of the earth, but is that also where your argument ends? Because even if say, I agree with the assessment that
religion has contributed more good things in the world than bad, it can also be argued that it's also where religion's role ends--as a has been.
It might have been useful back then up to a certain point in history, but with all the science and knowledge mankind has started to accumulate, why can't we make newer rules to live with? Human beings have a very acute sense of fairness with or without religion. In many religions, there are also certainly rules that are enacted with past situations in mind, situations that may not match our current conditions.
1) Most of the world is underdeveloped. 3rd world countries still need religion to tell them where lightning comes from. What makes you think that the whole world understands science. In fact, people in fully developed countries don't understand science, or ethics, or philosophy in general. So, how exactly do you propose to implement these new social motivators to the under-evolved masses?
2) The very fact that religious charities produce billions of dollars for the under-privileged is enough to keep it around for forever. We need to feed the hungry somehow, and religion gets the job done better than anything else we've seen so far. Maybe when we find a way to bypass efficiency laws and mass-clone cows without feeding them, we can do without religious charities, but until then we've gotta find another source of food for all those little African kids with the bloated bellies.