The five "R"s that probably inspired the invention of god and religion:

[smax]

But you didn't state that in the OP, which is why I was quick to ask you for evidence to back up your claims.

I'll be more clear in the future.

Many a thread get created here to simply state the poster's opinions about something without any intent to actually have a discussion about it. The bare nature of the OP made it appear to be one of them.

That will never be me. I'd blog something if I didn't want feedback.

Hmmm...my objections have nothing to do with me being on the staff. Unless I am enforcing the rules, I am just another member. I can't speak for the others on the staff, but nothing whatsoever would give me any indication that anyone harbors any animosity towards you.

Those "ridiculously pointless and baseless" thread topics don't get the level of serious objections towards them for the simple reason that they are, in fact, ridiculously pointless.

Fair enough.

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Gods were probably invented to explain what could not be explained otherwise. He has remained a placeholder explanation for everything until better explanations supersede him.

I'd say about 80-85 percent of the world's population are overdue for a trade up, wouldn't you?

Religion, as a purposeful establishment with rules and rituals, probably was invented for the reasons you laid out, but the beliefs at the core of those religions were probably just ignorant people trying to understand things beyond everybody's observational and experimental capacities. These kinds of beliefs were probably pretty sincere and not created with ulterior motives in most instances. Believers today have little excuse for such infantile thinking, of course, but virtually all believers today gain their belief early through indoctrination or cultural osmosis and (in the monotheisms at least) cannot reject them without risking what they are told is eternal punishment.

These are basically my same views, only it's been my experience that potential social consequences are quite a compelling factor to stay affiliated with religion as well.