What is the function of religion?

[Confused Ape]

Of course one can say, as someone did, that that's a placebo effect and I agree mostly with this point -- you can have the placebo effects of a placebo drug without the drug, if you learn to control your mind -- , but the fact remains a fact.

I was speculating about shamanism in the dim and distant past because shamanism was around thousands of years before any kind of organised religion. The shamans' rituals could have had a placebo effect so people who believed in them might have had a better chance of recovering from some illnesses and injuries.

Humans, as a species, seem to have in inbuilt drive to worship something but this isn't confined to deities because we can put other humans on proverbial pedestals and idolise them. This can be manipulated into cults of personality for political leaders such as Stalin or Mao Zedong.

We're still tribal creatures in many ways and a lot of human history has involved wars for territory, resources and power etc. This dark side of our nature has resulted in the negative side of religion. Humans also have a tendency to get fanatical and this isn't confined to religion and ideologies - there have been many internet flame wars on the lines of "My favourite TV show is better than your TV show".

If religion disappeared tomorrow we'd still fight for territory, resources, power and ideologies.