Since 2010, the largest statue of Jesus overlooks the Polish town Swiebodzin.
bbc.com
Si Dieu n'existait pas ...
... il faudrait l'inventer (If God did not exist, he ought to be invented; Voltaire 1768). It is an old saying, that God as an epistemological concept was indispensable for the advent of complex human societies. Hand in hand with this idea come doubts on the real existence of such a 'higher entity', that may have been just an invention of thoughtful humans, to fill a blank to impart stability to vibrant communities inclined to chaotic outbreaks.
Just an invention? Do you notice a devaluating attitude associated with the statement? As if the concept would lose its worth if it would turn out as human invention and not as a solid fact. But the concept is much older than our written history. It was subjected to continuous change over the millenia. Its origins date back to first symbolic signs engraved on stone and bone 70.000 years ago, and probably even further. Shouldn't we, instead of dismissing them as 'just human', pay tribute to these ideas and regard them as our honorable heritage?
It is no atheism to regard religion as human invention. If you fear to lose your faith with this kind of conclusion, you probably did not adhere to the right sort of faith. At least it reveals poor confidence into the human race as a whole. Trust into values accrued over thousands of generations comes quite close to religious belief, with or without filling the blank with any name or title.
Paying respect to our countless predecessors should humble us in our own tiny role as single individual. Our life acquires meaning only in the greater context, exceding by far our modest lifespan.  We can only submit to our inconspicuous role in a huge mass of conspecifics, with individual aims and desires of rather limited significance.
In our times of secularization, an ever increasing portion of us stops attending religious ceremonies, with a few exceptions. Most of us still attend from time to time interments. It still may happen that on such occasions any variety of a simple statement is uttered ('We come from dust. We end as dust'), just to remind the community of this evident truth. All religions start with this reminder, as an impetus to rescale the coordinates of our lives: Not the ego should be on center stage, but the community.
The 'right sort of faith' might even exceed the community each of us is part of. As it would be short-sighted to focus our efforts exclusively on our own ego, we would miss our charge as human being  by having just our own tribe in mind. After letting go of downright egoism, this second step appears even more challenging. Many actual religions still adhere to codices with roots reaching deep into (and beyond) the last millenium. In their eyes, adherents of other religions are 'non-believers' and no match for their own evident superiority.
Under these circumstances, religion - while originally invented to remind humans of their limits as single individuals - is presently hardly of any relevance in fostering peace during globalization. It may be hoped that advancing secularization will sooner or later facilitate also this second step.
Will our future world, after successful globalization and the end of all hostilities, be a world without religions? Will completed secularization finally lead to their disappearence?
It will (hopefully) be a world without religions as we know them now. But secularization is not directed against religions as such, but intends to restrict them to a private affair. Human culture needs incessant input by education and communication. The natural inclination of all (and especially young) humans to seek this input paves the way to highly developed manners. To respect all fellowmen, wherever they are from, may become an indispensable part of these manners, maybe even without explicit reference to any (private) religion.
Voltaire (1768) A l'auteur du traité 'Des trois imposteurs' (épitre) [réponse de Voltaire à un manifeste athée]
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