But modern religion is an entirely different beast. Modern religion culled the most intractably annoying fallacies known to man, by an evolutionary process. One feature of modern religion is that it is annoyingly obtuse. Modern religion does not usually directly guide peoples' intellectual ideas, it underhandedly and invisibly restricts thought. People supposedly believe in their religions, yet they generally behave about the same as people who don't participate in religion, and their intellectual abilities are often hamstrung.
This is why much of modern religion (mostly the religious institutions) completely infuriates me. I have no problem with people believing in fairies under rocks until it starts to affect more than their own existence. If humanity put just a tenth of the effort, money, and support into research combating aging and diseases, space travel, and alternative energy (to name a few), I can only imagine how advanced we would be now.
Too much of modern religion is about control and ignorance - especially in the USA. For as far as we have come, we are still fighting the battles of Galileo. This makes me go "grrrrr".
I have started making a very concentrated effort to actually become involved rather than be an observer. This community (and sub-communities) needs more of a voice. Modern religion has a very strong voice, and thus a very strong influence. I am taking opportunities to discuss scientific advances and hopefully educate, open minds, and expose people to ideas and technologies they would not hear about in their daily circles. Maybe I am becoming an "evangelical" transhumanist/immortalist/activist, but as I learn I want to tell others so they too can make informed choices about the direction of their lives.
A collective effort (and patience) is needed to change society. Instead of waiting for someone else to start the change I want to see, I am making the choice for that change to start with me.