While I agree that there is something important to be said for maintaining a sense of community, it obviously does not require any kind of supernatural belief to do so.
I would argue that the cost paid by society due to the institutionalized anti-intellectualism embodied by the church and largely embraced by the government far exceeds whatever communitarian benefits the church itself contributes to society.
I would argue that the cost paid by society due to the institutionalized anti-intellectualism embodied by the church and largely embraced by the government far exceeds whatever communitarian benefits the church itself contributes to society.
Let's find those benefits elsewhere.