There are three articles I'll be making use of to not necessarily make my point, but to simply make known the practicality of the question in the subject line.

This first one makes points about how children who are religious do not distinguish very well between fact and fiction as well as children who are not religious/secular. This is not necessarily infused with any positive or negative value. One could actually argue that is a good thing in the sense that religious minded people may be less averse to what the articles denotes as "the impossible" The "impossible" in this sense can easily be related to "the imagination" or the "improbable" The former being helpful in the arts and entertainment sectors of life and business, and the latter being helpful in a general sense of providing confidence to those who seek out goals and challenges in life which are less probable or semmingly "impossible" The negatives of religion are too often discussed and well-known so no bother wasting text on that imo.

The second one and the third one seek to show the increasing similarity between the sociological elements of religion and gaming. Both use majestic arenas for big annual or events (GDC, E3, Palm Sunday, Christmas, etc.), both have massive growd gatherings and meetups, both have artistic elements to help make a stronger connection (gaming OSTs + remixes of youtube, Religions hyms, etc.), both have personal jewels and items (gaming tokens ala amiibo, figurines, necklaces, clothing, etc.), and it goes on and on.

You don't have to click or read the links as I think the arguments are pretty straightforward in showing the literal connections between the gaming and religious worlds/lifestyles. The question is how strong the argument is and not whether it fails in its logic imo. But if it is a strong argument, the first article mentioned poses a question of how that can actually impact a person's life when they can become so ammassed in the "impossble" and "ficticious"

So, is gaming as ficticious and/or effective as religion? Is it not more popular these days in the very least, therefore making it more impactful?

Maybe

Note: I couldn't find a more religious one for Phil T_T

Well, for the sake of a text-debate how bout I simply pick a side that seems pretty plausible - gaming is indeed more fictitious than religion. I mean for christ's sake, it's virtual and more visually/auditory/tactilely realistic than a book.

But as far as the "ceremonies" go, religion seems more common place and pattern-istic, not that gaming doesn't have it of course. Just that even E3 doesn't beat Christmas.

Everyone is religious by nature. That would make your entire topic invalid.

This is missing something...

Ah! I know!

Religions often make gathering mandatory, either directly or through pressure. Gaming can be as solitary as you want and for many it remains a minor hobby. Those who gather for video-game events are probably in the minority. With gaming, you can pick the bonds you want, it's entirely at your discretion. That's a very important difference.

There are superficial similarities, of course, but that's true of almost all hobbies. Some sports fans, for example, are probably more similar to religious zealots than most gamers.

Depends on how you define religion I guess. There are some forms of Buddhism for instance that really don't deal with supernatural stuff, so those wouldn't be fictitious.

In general though, I'd say they're equally fictitious. It's kind of a binary thing. So they both fall into fiction.

There is nothing wrong with being religious, unless what they believe is extreme and over serious. 

Source?