I think you are really onto something here and for those who do not understand it you have just explained Deism very well. Deists did not have science as we do today and like others they needed and wanted answers. Their god created everything and set it in motion, then disappeared. This is because they knew from the beginning that there was no god there to interact with. It makes them much smarter than others today in my opinion.

Cut to "2001: A Space Odyssey." Suppose that HAL the computer had no name. The film would not have made as much sense and would not have been as interesting. If I put this back into religion I can see why people would want a personal god. You cannot prove him in any way but the story becomes more interesting and maybe your religion has features that another one does not. This is why there are so many religious claims in the world. It is your invisible man who provides all the answers. To be in control you have to have all the answers.

Frankly, the best commentary on religion is the book “Small Gods” by Terry Pratchett. The premise is that belief creates the god. The stronger the belief, the stronger the god.

Religion and the belief in the supernatural is a holdover from primitive times when primitive men were afraid of things they could not control so sought some means to control them. Nature, fire, lightning, disease, all were beyond their understanding so they created beings/spirits/gods the could entreaty for help in dealing with them. It was a defense mechanism that persists to this day, mostly because groups of people have profited from these illogical and factually unsupportable belief systems.

All religions are total system ideologies. They purport to include and explain everything. They form cults of total believers who form extraordinarily cohesive groups who commit themselves to the dogma so totally that they are, in effect, "selling their entire being." to the cause." Christianity , Judaism, all Moslem sects, and communism are all total system ideologies. Hitler aspired to make Nazism a total system ideology.

I like Douglas Adam`s humorous take on this. If someone believes in a deity then it exists. Just because people stop believing in a deity does not mean that it ceases to exist. Hence You have Thor trying to get a flight back to Sweden at Heathrow airport and the guilt monster that lives in an uncleaned fridge

"God is not necessary for religion. Oddly enough it is true."

I do not know why anyone would think it is odd. The word "religion," according to Oxford, has 3 primary meanings. Only one of them states anything about a deity.

"So lets say that religions did worship real gods and somehow those gods disappeared. The religious ceromonies would go on unobstructed."

The first sentence does not guarantee the second. Maybe the ceremonies would go on, and maybe they wouldn't. But what you're supposing in these statements is pretty outlandish either way, even for the sake of argument.

Wholly unnecessary, and nothing more than a crutch to avoid dealing with
reality.

A god or higher power only has to exist in the mind of the believer for a religion to work.

I think that one can believe in the natural world, natural consequences, human nature, wisdom gleaned from literature, common sense, personal experience, and a vision toward a harmonious future, without really calling it a religion, while also participating in cultural rituals, personal ceremonies and any meaningful traditional interactions with others, creating a feeling of community with our fellow beings and our place in the world.

The Buddhists may have it right: the universe, according to them, is in a eternal cycle of birth, expansion, contraction, death, and rebirth.
In other words, the "big bang" has happened an infinite number of times and will continue on and on into eternity.
So according to them, nobody or nothing created it in the first place, and nobody or nothing will ever destroy it, in the final analysis.
They say, when all is said and done, it has ALWAYS been here and it always will be.
It explodes into existence from a microscopic speck, expands until it burns itself out, implodes back into a microscopic speck, and explodes outward again, they say.
No 'god,' no assembly, required.
Unless, of course, EVERYTHING is 'god,' and WE will eventually become 'gods' again, as we have already become on countless worlds here, there, and everywhere, forever and ever, amen.
How's THAT for a line of b--lsh-t a mile long?
Religion is like that.
So be it.

If I understand your hypothetical correctly (though I take issue with some of your posits, I believe I get where you are going), then:

Religion, ostensibly, "provides" three things:

1. • a reason for things that happen
2. • a conduit for making things better
3. • comfort that there is essence that survives beyond mortal death

Take away the 'gods' and we have

1. • science as a natural explanation of how things work and is always improving
2. • stop praying and get working, if things are to get better
3. • accept that little bit of time is what we get, so ENJOY it as best as we can

But I don't see this as "religion without god" or anything like that. The rituals go away and the traditions are abandoned. Practiced in fun, maybe, I mean, who doesn't love a ol' pagan maypole dance, amirite?

If one needs metaphysics in their life, go look at a painting or listen to a symphony, let it move them - then pick up a brush or a musical instrument and create for themselves.

Quite right. Christianity doesn’t need Jesus. You can take him off the cross at any time and still have the religion.

I would go s far as to say Pauline Christianity didn’t need Jesus until 325CE.

Interesting. Never thought of this concept. Thanks.

It is my suspicion that atheism is on the road to being a religion..... for just this reason..... and a kind of mutual dislike for something can be just as big a rallying point as a mutual belief in something....???

In the UK, Veganism is now legally considered a religious movement and thus, protected as such.

Oh, and I am forced to disagree with your basic premise. Such rituals and practices are not done without purpose. They are intended to offer a message, a plea, or a promise to some force or power, thus a 'god' being, even if it is some personification of nature that is somehow sentient and aware and has the power to make the changes that are sought or the supplicant is showing thanks for. Your own remark about assuming gods did exist refutes that premise.

There is life - just live it. What if the 'god' said Just be happy everything else is an illusion? Humans would find a way to fuck it up.

The root word for religion is 'religio' and it carries the sense of people bound together in a purpose. I came across it first when someone referred to the book Religio Medici. I think it carries a general meaning that became narrowed to community worship. If that's the case, then religion certainly can exist without a god.

Do animals and even insects have consciousness?
Yes.
Do they have a written-down set of laws, rituals, etc.?
No.
Are there certain 'natural laws' by which they abide?
Sure.
So do we.
It's like some conservatives think they invented the free enterprise system, when in fact it's always existed.
Some clerics think we invented religion, i.e. natural law, when it's always been there.

I think that would be called deism.

I cannot speak for other so called "religions" other than my former Christian experiences.

Generally, as I understand biblical text, God(s) spoke into the thoughts of many people with some reported sightings i.e. Moses on mountain or report of new testiment as Jesus character showing up in person. I am saying this as a general statement that I do not have full analysis to know if it is 100% the case, but: generally in biblical text people were writing for a God to pass on laws, rules rituals etc. So it's not consider to be the man requiring such observations but that the men writing is just the messengers passing the message.

As you you say,"So the purpose of religion has nothing to do with gods and has everything to do with humankind." Would be rather correct in view of a lot of the biblical text.

Consider taking cave man to astronaut. Consider If cave man has no discipline, no concept of route, no concept of procedure to follow then cave man would not make a very good astronaut. Where as things of rituals like "washing hands after touching a dead body" is just a way to start developing discipline or concepts of following written procedure. An astronaut would have to be highly trained, highly skilled and know how to follow a lot of written procedures.

Evolution is a slow thing they say, to bring cave man, jungle laws into a more highly organized written legal system as we see biblical prophesy give about out current new world order where that now people basically are worshippers of laws of government. Even though most may not agree with all laws, there is a huge worldly acceptance to worship the beast-666. Beast being metaphor in biblical Revelations for laws of government and "666" is riddle for identification for taxation and government control that everyone basically worships. Submit to Authority-666 pay taxes Masonic lodge secret religion racist devil worship governmental terrorism and religion oppression since the European invasion of 1492 and the Masonic lodge secret religion racist devil worshippers freedom from England July 4th, 1776.