I think of religion as an artform, a type of performance art that produces altered states of consciousness, some of which are pleasant and bueatiful and even inspiring.

The problem is all those folks infected with religion as a memetic virus, that tricks them into hating folks that aren't infected with the same virus as they have.

Then tricks them into going out and killing (imprisoning, torturing, harrasssing, scapegoating, etc) the folks with either no memetic virus, a different memetic virus, or, when they are feeling particularly "religious", each other, for not being true to their virus.

Religion is a relatively ancient mental adpatation to the problem of mind and language and geography.

Like many ancient technologies, like technology in general, it causes new problems even as it solves old ones.

I think eventually more and more people will also view religion as an artform. And will not see the imagery of dominant gods as anything other than a metaphor.