Great question. I don't think it's as much a matter of "having to" in a conscious way, as it is that we just "do" by our own unconscious nature. I think it's part of our design in a sense. I suspect that's the authentic (evolutionary) purpose of what we call "religion"; to constantly reinforce our natural illusional sheath - the natural lubricant against the unbearable harshness of reality.

But it's not just by religion we do this. Virtually all of our cultural instincts work toward this goal. We build houses to shield ourselves from the weather and from dangerous animals. We have a sense of aesthetics to decorate the interiors of those houses in a cheerful, uplifting way. We make music, we dance, we tell stories, we plant flowers, we ingest intoxicants... all to no practical end but to lift our spirits. We are "spiritual" creatures.

UNTIL we go and destroy the natural illusional sheath we are born in by inventing science. THEN we're in big trouble. Now we are forced to deal with an aspect of reality we were not really designed by nature to ever encounter. So it is met with fierce resistance by those whose inclination is to remain in an undisturbed, natural state.

The solution to this dilemma is not, in my opinion, to abandon all progress, nor to forsake our own nature, but to devise a worldview that embraces both. That is to say, it's not an either/or question. We must find a way to protect our naked psyches while operating in the thornfields of ever-harsher reality. It's time for a complete overhaul, rather than an abandonment, of religion.

This means religion must now acknowledge all of science's requirements. But we must never stop dancing.

Whether the stories we tell ourselves are delusional or not depends on what the individual can handle. The laity has always been held to looser standards, but for many centuries now, monastics have known how to transcend material limitations through mental disciplines. Whichever path a person chooses, it should be respected. Some people will always prefer to remain in illusion. The solution is not to ridicule them or attack them individually, but to work to elevate the culture at large. They will go where the culture goes.

Science effectively makes reality harsher, so religion must now be tougher, and smarter... not done away with. Culture is the human organ that enables us to evolve rapidly in the face of environmental change. We use it, or we lose everything. Contrary to our illusions otherwise, we are not indestructible.

Of course there are individuals who can manage to escape this paradigm, but we are not solitary animals. We are a social species. We depend, for our survival, on figuring out how to make peace with all of our kind... even those.

I don’t think I would put in in quite the same way as has been expressed here. I hold the belief that discounting those with severe depressive illness, we generally fall into two personality types....optimists and pessimists. I believe that generally speaking optimists lead happier and more fulfilled lives than those who are naturally pessimistic in nature. This is regardless of intelligence, income or status, and is based on my observation and life experience in working and living amongst people from all walks of life and nationalities.

Uuummm, is it an illusion that i Finally have sufficient money not to worry all the time? That i have lovely friends, a new car, cute dogs? A tiny RV? That i finally get to be ME, x 2?
I think not...i have had the opposite of all the above, so I Know the difference!

I woke up this morning, it's good to be alive. No illusions required.

By all rights we should not have to pump up our psyches with exaggerated thoughts, because every moment of awareness is profoundly beautiful and miraculous. If an alien spaceship landed in our front yard we’d get all excited, but the basic implications of existence far far outdo anything like that. We tend to take our lives for granted—allow them to be just drab and commonplace by forgetting just how amazing and awesome reality is.

I don't think so. The meaning of life is to live. Why delude ourselves...