Human societies from before the beginning of recorded history have featured separate Religious and Secular leaders (e.g., Priest and King). This division of governance worked well for sustaining order. It was essentially a "good cop, bad cop" system. While the king could be ruthless with enemies, the priests promised goodness for the good (if not now, in some future life). Religions also addressed some other issues, such as how the world came to be, what it consists of now, and what are the nature and limits of human understanding.
Among other things, the religious leaders encouraged people to think of being good to others (i.e. altruistic), even if the King set a poor example and did otherwise. To the degree they maintained order and encouraged altruism, religions could do some good. To the degree they permitted the King to get away with murder, or executed heretics, etc., of course, they could also do much bad. At first, however, they were a necessary evil or social organizations larger than one family. Without religion, there might have been anarchy, which might have been even more deadly for most people.
Prior to Alexander (one of the Worst People of All Time), the Greeks devised systems of philosophy and governance which were complete enough to function without religion. They developed concepts like Morality, Philosophy, and Democracy which did not, in their essence, depend upon supernatural beliefs. Since that time, Religion has been obsolete. But it has been taking a long time for it to fade away. There are many who have vested interests in keeping it going. And now, for no good reason.
The only true morality is Altruism (click here for more discussion on altruism). Contemplate an altruism equally devoted to all people, all life, everything that can feel pain or injury (including self, but only as another person) and you can derive all useful morality. Toss your Torah, Boot your Bible, Kick your Koran (but have some pity on your Jewish, Christian, and Muslim friends; they are people, after all). All those books and the religions behind them promote the gospel of superiority: they are the chosen ones, everyone else is damned in some way ("must be saved," converted, subjugated, kicked off the ranch, even not intermarried with). The gospel of superiority is antithetical to the true morality of Altruism. It does more harm than good even for those who follow it.
Physical truth is best discovered and explored through the scientific method. I also believe it is likely the nature of subjective experience and consciousness is within the realm of the scientific method and can ultimately be understood by human intelligence, within the same sort of limits that apply to other things such as the beginning of the universe. I admit that this has not been done yet in any sort of satisfying way, but I believe it can be and will be done by science if we don't kill ourselves off first.
So what is Religion useful for now? For obfuscating the control of a few people over many others. For justifying tyranny. For training people NOT to think for themselves. In other words, for no good end.
I want freedom FROM RELIGION.
Ironically, the apparent "core" of many religions is (limited) Altruism, along with, perhaps, a few other good ideas. But around that highly visible core of altruism is always an edifice of tyranny. I have specific thoughts about Christianity, Judiasm, and Islam in this regard.
Truth is the ultimate divinity. To accept a system of religion or bias is to give up on pursuing the Truth. To be free of bias, to be open to everything, to be pure in heart is to be able to see the Truth. No one can see it perfectly, because our divinity, as children of the Universe, is a lower order than that of the Truth itself. Likewise no book or sage can show the truth perfectly.
If truth were not the ultimate divinity, we couldn't reason about it,
the divine would be beyond reason (and we could not even know
if
it exists). But fortunately, Truth is the ultimate divinity,
and reason is its handmaiden.