One of my favorite books is Gilbert Murray’s; The Five Stages of Greek Religion; http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30250/30250-h/30250-h.htm

It will give you some grounding on how Christianity came to be the predominant religion of the West.

The logical fallacy of monotheism is that a spiritual absolute would be that essence of sentience, from which we rise, not an ideal of wisdom and judgement, from which we fell. More the light shining through the film than the images on it. Yet narrative is the basis of humanity. What allows us to escape the present moment, by which the rest of life is bound.

As you are observing, the real function of religion is to give people some grounding in a society that tends to tear apart our networks as fast as we create them.

I have to say I long ago gave up hope finding this grounding in people as distinct creatures, for a whole number of reasons, so I grounded myself in the physical existence of being and discovered a much more healthy understanding, than what is on offer in society.

Here is a brief essay I posted recently, which goes into it somewhat, as a way of trying to reframe our cultural beliefs;

https://medium.com/@johnbrodixmerrymanjr/peeling-paradigms-d6168f007794