What is the evolutionary advantage to religion?

My two cents...I see religion working as an evolutionary advantage in two ways, firstly at the individual level and secondly at the society level. But first I’d like to touch on my opinion on how religion and the concept of gods originated.Going back to the early days of humans, there would have been a time when some people would have begun to experience the first stirrings of self-awareness and curiosity. They may have looked at them selves and their surroundings and wondered where it all came from. Not having the knowledge of science, the world and the universe that we have today, a thinking person of the times may have thought along these lines: What made me and all around me? I and other people can create and control things. We can plant and grow things in the ground for food. We can make tools and build shelter. We can domesticate animals. We can create fire. Therefore, something like me but much bigger and more powerful must have created us. After the birth of this idea of powerful beings called gods, it would logically follow that some people would think their creator(s) would want them to behave and live in a certain way. Such ideas would be formulated by a small number of ‘enlightened’ individuals. Most of the general population around them, who have no education and very basic thoughts, needs and wants, would simply believe what they’re told. It seems a lot still do today!So that is my basic theory on the origin of religion, now back to the topic at hand. On an individual level, religion is largely about belief. Religious people often call it Faith. A human’s brain is an organ of the body, and therefore it must operate in a way that allows the human to survive. Thoughts, emotions and feelings are basically due to the movement of chemicals through the brain, as a result of reacting to outside stimulus. The feeling of faith is a powerful ‘fuel’ (for want of a better term) to keep someone going through a life of hard work, adversity and hardship. It is a good motivator to keep working for the good of ones family and society. Think of it like a car. You put fuel in a car and it can be driven, but after a while the engine will eventually wear out. However, if you take care of the engine, maybe add one of those fuel additives which helps to make the engine run better and more efficient, it will last longer. Faith is like the fuel additive, the car can’t run on it alone but combined with fuel it makes the car work much better. Similarly, the presence of faith in a human brain keeps it working better and can help to withstand the adversities that life presents.Individual people are the basic components of a group. It therefore follows that when those individuals are faithful and are working together cohesively, the group or society will be stronger and better protected from outside threats. It is possible that in early human history, groups formed that were not united by any kind of belief system, rather just basic survival instincts. These groups would not have so much cohesion and probably split up and died out, while those united by faith lived on. Picture a group threatened by an angry mammoth. A cohesive group would most likely stand together and fight or collectively decide to retreat, either way the group maintains its integrity. A less cohesive group would possibly split and run away with an ‘every-man-for-himself’ type of attitude.Oh, by the way this is my first post here and I am a beginner to this general subject, so hi to everyone. I am an atheist, and this post does not necessarily reflect my personal views on religion, it’s purely my thoughts on how it could be an evolutionary benefit like the topic asks. Hopefully I’ve made sense!I’m a newbie, so be nice. A happy 2005 to all.Thor