I'm astounded at how much Sopho and I think alike on... well, every issue.
Sopho, I hate religion too. I'm bloody well sick and tired of people talking about religion like it's a good thing. "I'm a good person because I go to church." Religion simplifies morality for people who are too lazy and self-indulgent to think about what is right and wrong, but morality isn't that simple. Religion has caused (and will continue to cause, becuase human beings are lazy, stupid, self-indulgent pigs) immeasurably more pain and misery than it has joy or peace.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Atheists don't delude themselves into believing there's a Greater Entity out there that will absolve them of all guilt for doing something if 1. it's part of His plan; or 2. they repent. Atheists know they are responsible for their own behaviour. The buck stops here.
People believe in God because it simplifies their worlds, makes them feel safe and secure, and makes them feel like they're a part of a group that is superior to everyone who doesn't follow their religion. They have no evidence to support their faith, and yet huge numbers of them are willing to wage war over it. It's mindless self-indulgence.
People don't believe in God because they have any evidence for His existence. People believe in God because it makes them feel good. Frankly I think that's pathetic.
Religion is one of the many reasons I am so vehemently misanthropic.