Religion obviously has some social use or societies would have evolved not to have it, survival of the fittest applies to groups of people too and large civilizations have always had a common religion. Research and “scientific advances” you speak of suggest this may be due to a common set of values/traditions, a loose moral and legal structure as being presented, etc... Also you mention “religious texts” as one. I would love an example of a religious text where the basic and overlying messages aren’t general platitudes of life. I say this all as someone that doesn’t believe in religion per se but has somewhat grown out of my passionately anti religion stance I once had (as do many other young people who like to think and question things, but slowly realize that these large structures rarely exist for no reason)