Well, the world's most populous country is an atheist majority, right? And about 35% of millennials consider themselves unaffiliated with a religion. I see that as a sign of maturation.
The landscape today is different than in the past. The internet has allowed people access to information and different ways of thinking. That's new. And while it's still VERY difficult in some areas to disavow religion, with the additional support systems more are doing just that.
As far as the advent of religion goes I think it's because humans are the only animals afraid of death. Fear is a powerful tool and, in the case of religion, it's been very effective. But as far as 'higher powers,' that came about and lasted far longer than the major religions of today, my thinking is that they're a result of our ability for cognitive reasoning. If you have no access to information other than what you're told amidst a small group, where shared ideals were demanded, it makes things difficult to challenge. So yeah...the sun, lightning bolts and the moon phases are from a god. That ties things up for a curious species.
