the final missing piece, which both @DavidRTomlinson & @HaikuHeroics explain in their books, is that religion never went away. It's just that most people today are in religions that say "I am not religion, I am truth"
https://x.com/DefenderOfBasic/status/1950536311045324869
https://x.com/DefenderOfBasic/status/1950536311045324869