Religion has always been man made. What is the sun? GOD! any question we couldn't answer was god. Our religion has only got a little smarter through time. Once we understood something then we made up a new god. No one has a clue and really it comes down to feelings. It's nice and comfortable to know there is a afterlife. So all in all, it's like the guy that knows his girl is a little slutty but won't believe that she is because the truth hurts. So after years of her cheating and him getting every wind of it, he won't believe until he walks in on it.
How many religions out? About 4,000 and you think yours is special, yet has contridiction after contridiction. Science is the only true path forward. You want the truth, if your religious, you can't handle the truth. You rather pretend that there is a god and your choice of god as well. I'm not saying there isn't one but god could be anything, the beginning of spacetime. Non intelligent but the spark or the infinite that has always been.
So it comes down to self Importance and feelings. without god some would feel useless, is this because of there tradition or insecurities. We will never know why people are so stupid to think the earth is 6,000 years old but there are a lot of stupid people. Also lets not forget all the money made off stupity.
The late George Carlin says it the best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o&feature=player_embedded