Religion happens. It may happen for evolutionary reasons.

There's been a lot of discussion recently on that very subject in scientific journals, which seems pretty obvious : religion is real, it exists; its nature is, therefore, self evident in its multiplicity and ubiquity. It is an observable phenomenon. But we do not need it to survive; it remains an optional extra, an entertainment. To some, sadly, it is a means to mass hysteria & psychosis.

I don't think any of this is in question, on the contrary. Religion is, objectively, part of the cultural diversity of humanity. We may consider it even as an enrichment in terms of ethnology and human uniqueness the world over, but no single religion is consistent with any other, other than in matters which are common to us all anyway. All religions derive from basic every day secular concerns and moralities. All religions seek to offer succour in the face of the inevitability of the unsayable. In this all religions are as valid as any other; but they are all - each and every one of them - made up. They embody truth (for example in the bon mots of Christ and The Buddha) but those truths are pretty much self-evident, arising quite naturally as part of human nurture.

We note that Fundamentalist Christian largely ignore the humanist teachings of Christ, obsessing themselves with issues of sin and salvation, thus fabricating a church that stands in diametric opposition to the man they claim as their Messiah. The same is true of Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism. WWJD? I think that much is self-evident too.   

Religion is, ultimately, a) optional and b) subjective. Religion is the repository of a culture's folklore and mythology, and, as such, they are objectively fascinating. Country churches, cathedrals, pyramids, mosques, stone circles, the Llibre Vermell de Monsterrat, the Vivaldi Gloria, Bach's B Minor Mass, the ritual music of Tibetan Buddhism and Vedic Scripture all stand testimony to its humanity. Creationism and Anti-Science stand testimony to its very inhumanity, stemming no doubt from some other evolutionary essential in which those who differ from regimented compliance are to be routed and stamped out.

Happily, they will pass, as can be seen with the dwindling congregations as people, happily, find better things to do with their Sunday mornings. We know better now; science has lit the candle in the dark and it shines upon us all. The true Light of the World.   Secularism can thus celebrate human religious diversity as part and parcel of the very stuff that makes us human, but taken objectively, all together, the truth to which they point to has nothing to do with any God, or any other non-existent supernatural power, but the sheer inventiveness of the collective mind that leads, ultimately, to the scientific enlightenment that will pave the way into the future.