" The chief of these divisive, regressive obstacles is superstition, not least in its organised form as religion. It is not possible to underestimate the drag on human history that religion represents, standing in the way of progress towards individual liberation, the gathering and application of scientific knowledge, the development of open and pluralistic societies, and the adoption of a humane morality which is tolerant, generous, inclusive and just, and in which it is the fact of being human rather than the ethnicity, gender or sexuality of individuals that determines how they treat each other. "

Yes, yes....but as always a fundamental point is missed. Something along the lines of Dostoevsky's comment that if one reduced the world to just maths and geometry...people would go mad on purpose to avoid facing it.

What all of the diatribes against religion fail to do is provide something that the religions do at least provide......a sense of meaning and purpose. OK so religion is a load of baloney.....but what are you replacing it with ?

So you want people to stop believing in their sky fairy and believe what ? That their lives are meaningless and accidental in a totally indifferent universe that could not give a damn ? It's not hard to see why that doesn't have quite the same appeal as the sky fairy.

You'll never abolish religion. The best you can ever hope for is to hone it all into something harmless that leaves out all the 'death to infidels' crap.