We currently have the benefit of building on the knowledge of previous generations. Needing to have an understanding of our surroundings is a basic human need, even if wrong. Also, needing to share a common thread within that tribe is also a basic human need. It is rather condescending and inaccurate that they were weak minded.

They had so much more to contend with than we do. They had so little help understanding than we do. At some point, they shared their understanding with others in their tribe and their tribe share their information with them. They agreed that some explanation must exist and they all agreed on the wrong explanation. But that does not imply that they were weak minded, just that they had bigger problems that they worked harder at understanding.

I find it amusing that all older religions have become mythology yet humans make new ones,that will eventually become mythology

There was a time when there were far fewer humans and compared the the enormity of nature around them one might have called them weak. So they invented myths of tribe, of thankfulness, of propitiation so as to not be eaten. I guess you could say we no longer need these mythologies. We now have technology with which we can wipe out nature. But in the end isn't technology just the mythology of the day? As Kurt Vonnegut once said - in the end "There is no Message"

Hate trump and religion, love nature photography, sports cars, and s. car racing, love fabricating, and modifying my house and cars. am old but fairly fit, want some one between 35 and mid or late 40's if smart, fit, and no kids. love rock and r., congratulations Moody Blues!!!

I believe religion came about as a control issue. Fear is the way the so called leaders of each religion use to keep people in line. For example, if you don't do as they say, you will be banished to hell or whatever term they come up with. They are all full of BS.

i'm going to go against consensus and say No!

but on a technicality, i beleive religion was made up as a way to gain influence and power. the weakness of humanity is things like confirmation bias, or cognitive dissonance, which leads to religious belief.

Yes

I can't recall the name of the phenomenon, but the brain has the ability to fill-in-the-blanks, so to speak, in order to form an interpretation from sensory stimuli. This means a shadow on the wall becomes a flying bird, the petals of a flower becomes a face, the knock of the wind against a screen door becomes a whispered name. This is not weak-mindedness. This is an advanced evolutionary function that has served us well for hundreds of thousands of years.

You realize that "god" or "gods" are part of our heritage going back to when we first became conscious? I truly think that "god" is our default program. We've believed in gods since we became conscious. That's just life. To that end, I do not think we will ever eradicate "god." However, I think we may understand those concepts better as we evolve.

Oh my yes, I do believe so. I think that people are somewhat raised to be weak so they do not get any good ideas to think cognitively. That would make those that are in power not able to use silly crap like religions to sway the masses to follow them.

Yes. Yes they are. I assume your question is rhetorical.

It's saddens me, but some people need this type of fiction to get through everyday reality.

That is part for the reason why the Bible only goes back 6,000 years or so. They don't want people to realize that the stories were mostly taken from earlier religions. BTW, the Chinese have a written history that goes back past the time period of Genesis when the world was supposedly created.

Since the dawn of "thinking" humans, they have always invented ideas, gods/goddesses/ demons, etc., to explain their world. Each successive generation has tweaked/changed their belief system. I believe the actual first group to come up with the idea of one God were the Zoroastrians who worshiped The Sun. Then the Jews came along and changed Sun to Son; then a bunch of people took ideas from Judaism and the Pagans to create Christianity, then along came the Arabs who took from all three to create Islam. There are so many off-shoots of Christianity, no one has any consensus as to which is "the right one". But you can't explain this timeline to religious fanatics/terrorists.