Civilization is not a Dependent of Religion

I've never fully understood why many theists find the need to justify their beliefs on blatantly grandiose ideas. This desire routinely leads the religious to make rather ridiculous and provably false claims. Being able to explain what you believe and why is important but it does not have to be anything breath taking and profound. A simple reason that is well founded is better than a monumental one built on the shakiest of foundations. One such notion that seems to keep creeping up with greater regularity is the erroneous view that religion both invented "civilization" and that civilization cannot exist without religion. Both are wrong. This is not to imply that religion has not played a role in the development of civilization or that it does not still serve various functions within contemporary society. It does and claiming otherwise would be just as false.

However, the nature and extent to which religion has shaped civilization, and vice versa, varies from culture to culture and era to era. It is mind-boggling to me that it never occurs to any of these theists that Civilization is a composite of different ideas and activities that far surpass anything a single institution can account for. Even if religion never evolved into a major aspect of culture civilizations would have still formed around the world. The very idea that we humans would not have developed languages, the arts, economic systems, political systems, etc, without religion is not just ignorant it is out right stupid.

The fact that religion is a major component of cultures around the world is not proof that it must be a component. I don't doubt that religion in some form will continue be an element of our civilization(s). But just as its role in the rise of civilization has varied I see no reason it won't continue to do so. It may end up being a minor/trivial aspect or it may see a revival. There is really no way to predict. Claims of the past, unlike predictions, can be systematically examined. They have been and the conclusions are pretty clear. Civilizations have risen from a wide source of influences not from a single source.