No, this is not a rhetorical question.
I consider myself moderately religious or "spiritual", and I see the value of religion for providing communities for people...but what is the basis for this? Is it purely an emotional attachment? Is it some vague sense of following "tradition"? What void in our "secular" lives is religion filling? I don't really know the answer for myself even, let alone for others.
Furthermore, why is following any sort of religious dogma even necessary in the 21st century? I'm playing Devil's Advocate here a bit, admittedly, but I'm still curious to hear your thoughts on this.
