Why are atheists so obsessed with religion?

[Confused Ape]

I'm quoting my Forum introduction post because it's the easiest way of replying to this topic.

I'm an atheist who is very interested in religion. Why have so many humans got it and what is it that's really going on? I think it's been firmly established that people have subjective religious experiences so I'm also interested in that branch of neuroscience which investigates what happens in the brains of people having these experiences. In 'The God Delusion', Richard Dawkins described having what he called a quasi mystical experience which indicates that a belief in deities isn't necessary for someone to have this kind of experience.

I'm also interested in The Golden Rule which has turned up everywhere. A number of scientists are looking into how it has a biologial basis so I follow what I can depending on how technical the articles/videos are.

Another area of personal curiosity is possible similarities between religions and ideologies such as the Khmer Rouge's Communist ideology.

Some atheists here might find me a little odd. I have the kind of brain which produces certain subjective experiences and I've learned how to switch over to them. I find this very useful because I can ask myself questions like "Is this what New Agers mean by Earth energies?" I also use Jungian psychology as a tool for exploring the symbolic imagery found in myth, dreams and religions etc. Why can such symbols have so much power over people? Is this related to those subjective religious experiences which neuroscience is investigating? Don't worry - I've been using Jungian psychology for this purpose for over 25 years and haven't been converted to a religion yet.