Whether there is a God or not has nothing to do with working hard to accomplish things, taking advantage of your natural talents, being kind to others, being reciprocal, and finding humor in almost everything. Deists and Atheists alike do these things. Deists and atheists alike do horrible things. Deists and atheists alike can be wonderful people or not.
A belief, like a dream, is a wish your heart makes. So I think its wise to believe whichever dreams you want, but then live in reality in the mean time.
“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” - - Robert Browning, in a letter to Judic West, thanking him, Judic, for helping Robert to keep his focus.
If I were still of childbearing age and inclination, and had a baby boy, I would seriously consider "Judic!" (Especially with its connection to THE elderolddog, but I don't think I would mention that bit to my still semi-TBM DH.)
That might sound sleazy, but hey - at 70, I' WAAAY beyond sleaze.
Done&done has a good reply. One of worst aspects of a cult is the claim it has the answer to your life's purpose. It really screws with your mind. Untangling that is what requires some time. Love and kindness are perhaps the best goals in life. Helping mankind to continue to evolve and improve and make a better future as well are great goals.
God/divine help did not 'hide or keep in the dark' from me. I find 'divine help' I have received very useful and continue to 'seek more' help.
I find 'very few' people 'seeking God or the Divine'. I am on a lot of 'spiritual' sites. Even there people that have recognized 'divine experiences' do not seem to become 'truth seekers' but tend to just keep their 'current beliefs' and adapt their 'experiences' to align with their current worldviews.
I do find many people seem to 'seek someone else' to tell them what God, etc. wants them to do. Thus, religion will remain popular. I have yet to find a 'religious' person that I 'believed' was seeking the 'divine/God'. Why should they, they already 'believe' they have found the 'only true religion, etc.'!
Today I don't think it matters so much. With our technological advances there is a lot to occupy our minds and entertain ourselves. Church attendance is declining world wide because people have found better things to do with their time or simply don't believe in a deity or afterlife, and those who do believe in such things have found they can do so without belonging to a religion. It took us thousands of years to reach this point though and it wouldn't have been possible if not for religion.
If religion had been declared a scam from the beginning, I wonder what the human race would be like - if we would have advanced the way we did? Those great structures from the past: Pyramids, temples (Pantheon, etc...) Cathedrals (Vatican, etc..), what would have been the motivation to build such grand structures if not to praise God(s)? What would Europe/western civilization be like without the Catholic church and the monks who preserved the ancient writings after Rome fell? Would there have been a Rome without religion? What would have taken the place of religion as a means of control or hope for continuing on after death? Would explorers like Christopher Columbus have had the courage to sail across the ocean if they did not believe that God was with them?
Our brains are all about survival. Because of this, I don't think our brains are okay with dying; it is looking for a solution - a way to survive, which is why the idea of a deity and and afterlife is so appealing and why religion started.
I don't think people will ever be okay with the thought of death, so if religion was declared a scam, I'm sure something else would take its place. Some other way to believe that we continue on...