Because the fact that I'm distant cousins with a pine tree, while compelling, is inherently meaningless. Science is a method for achieving a better understandin

Because the fact that I'm distant cousins with a pine tree, while compelling, is inherently meaningless. Science is a method for achieving a better understanding of the empirical world, but it doesn't begin to address crucial parts of lived experience such as: What is my place within my community? What is the point of me being alive right now? What is 'good'? Stuff like that. I'm sure you could come up with science-y answers for these questions, but those answers would ultimately be yours, subject to your own experience and judgement. There's no empirical, scientifically objective way to approach these things. That's why religion is still a thing, and why we need stories.