Are you saying I need to rethink things? I've argued in dozens of articles that religious teachings are mostly fictional or at best misunderstood metaphors and platitudes. But the question is whether we can do entirely without fictions and metaphors.

You say religion deceives humanity, and of course that's right with respect to the exoteric, literalistic religious traditions. But we also tend to deceive ourselves, and one way we do so is by telling stories and suspending our disbelief. That's how most people keep their sanity and make life tolerable.