I'm not personally religious but I'd be very careful before assuming religion, an institution that's been with humans for thousands of years, was a net negative

I'm not personally religious but I'd be very careful before assuming religion, an institution that's been with humans for thousands of years, was a net negative. I think humans probably have some innate desire for institutions with religious-like properties. And as we've become more secular over the past 60 years, there's been an increase in people that seem to be making politics the replacement, which may end up being more destructive than theistic religion ever was.