"... I also think religion has out lived its usefulness. It might have had a purpose at one time, in the role of "forming community," but now it's in the way."

I'm gonna stick my 99.94321% atheistic nose in here to say once more that simply defining a system that YOU don't agree with as "useless", is as big a mistake as blind faith IN that system.

I know why you say this, and I agree with most of your reasons for objecting to religion, especially 'as practiced' by many; but until we can find ways to show 'believers' (1) that there are too many contradictions and (2) that it IS possible to explain the universe and justify morality in other ways, religion will continue to be not only useful, but essential. In the meantime, we DO need to press HARD for reasonable behavior by believers, and make "separation of church & state" a reality.