It's like we're chickens in a walled or other enclosed area, we know what's going on inside the wall, but what's beyond the wall is something we may never truly know.

Why would we need to?

The self reflective universe?
The world becoming conscious of itself?
Man as an emmanation of spirit or a manifestation of the divine?
The arc of time is long but it tends towards experience and creativity?

Is there purpose in nature?
Where does man come from? The science answer: evolution
Why is man here? The religious answer : in the image, God as rational agent, God as moral agent

religion has not got the answer, it fails miserable..

I think there are clues in the core thoughts of religion. I love reading the Bible and Kaballah stories as well as Greek myths (and other myths), to gleam what I can of the core ideas that others may have passed on through their writings. There is something there, I believe.

On the other hand, The practice of religion is no different than any other group of people that I have ever observed, i.e. a group of people pulled together by core principles which they take on faith and which they believe everyone else should believe in if they expect to stay within the group. And of course, the group has a hierarchy. That is how groups are formed, and people join groups so that they can be part of something and share their ideas. The only issue I have is that the groups, in order to grow, start impressing and enforcing their ideas on others. They end up being a business.

Rich