It takes a profound hypocrisy to try to reconcile for others things that you can’t reconcile for yourself. - Jerry Coyne

In the end, why isn’t it better to find out how the world really works instead of making up stories about it, or accepting stories concocted centuries ago?

While our view of the world is filtered through our senses, evolution has, by and large, molded those senses to perceive the world accurately, for there’s a severe penalty to be paid for seeing things wrongly. That holds not only for the external environment, but also for the character of others. Without accurate perceptions, we couldn’t find food, avoid predators and other dangers, or form harmonious social groups. And following those perceptions is indeed the pursuit of “true beliefs”: beliefs based on evidence. Natural selection doesn’t mold true beliefs; it molds the sensory and neural apparatus that, in general, promotes the formation of true beliefs.

The first argument, that religion is a social necessity and will always be with us, is dubious. It can be demolished with only two words: northern Europe.