People claim money actually exists, too. It’s not an inherent property of human existence. It’s just an organizing principle that helps us coordinate resources.

It would be stupid if the main argument we had about money was whether on not it “exists.” By “stupid” I mean that it is counterproductive to the goals of bettering humanity. We don’t get anywhere with that discussion. Instead, we talk about how we should use use money as a tool to better organize our society. We talk about equity and advancement and poverty.

It’s the same with religion. It’s been well studied that religion offers social benefits:

Association between spirituality/religiousness and quality of life 2021

Assessing the Faith-Based Response to Homelessness in America Image

63.2% food pantries are identified as being faith-based food pantries

With this being Lemmy, I don’t have to highlight the negative consequences of religion.

The point is that we should be advancing beyond the kindergarten level discussion about what’s real and what’s make-believe. Intelligent people should instead be engaging on how we can ensure religious beliefs are fostering social trust, or how to recognize and combat religious extremism.