I am agnostic. ag·nos·tic aɡˈnästik/ noun 1. a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God. a·the·ist ˈāTHēəst/ noun a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods. "he is a committed atheist"
We as individuals do not carry our most scientific experiments, therefore we simply Believe what others/authorities say! Not much different than religious teachings! How could most others attain the same level of your understand and knowledge of objective reality maybe not so simple! Nor easy! Perhaps education and the Internet collectively could be the key! For the time being, inclusiveness would be the only thing we could do, while proper education will be universally and comprehensively implemented/provided!
you know, the belief what goes around comes around. I suppose it could be reduced to a formula. If I keep doing bad things will bad things happen to me?
Your point would make for lively, if misguided, debate. That is, until you tried to equate a witch doctor with a medical doctor. And that would reveal your attempt at false equivalency. Religion and science do not overlap. Problems arise when those with a religious bent seek to step outside of faith's purview, which should be limited to spiritual solace; when faith and the need for comfort is masqueraded as something more than it is and encroaches on areas where it has no business, like science and law.
I am a firm believer of everything can be progressively improved, sciences, laws, medicines, etc. as well as religions. For the people who still believe in any of their traditional faiths/cultures, I respect them and their faiths/cultures! Given opportunities, they can receive modern education and they may change their beliefs one day! And we might also change our beliefs too! Example: Trump!
Imagine the objective reality in a far-remote place/town of non-developed or non-developing country: A poor or sick or unfairly persecuted person who has to find a physician, a lawyer, a psychologist, a judge, a teacher, a medical specialist, a meteorologist, a court room, a hospital, a high-rise church building, etc. then the only person for all of the above roles could be the same person, the one-and-only religion leader of the place/town. They don't have the luxury we have in a developed/developing country, in dealing with separate professionals in each field. Although we might have to wait for months for the best medical specialist! They Do need a religion (a believable one, or not) for their comforts!
How can religion be progressively improved? You are either true to its precepts or you are straying from them. If the holy books of the various religions require changing, then who gets to change them? Wasn't God instrumental in the first draft? Faith and culture are so closely tied that, in many cases, it is unclear which has hijacked the other. Your implication being that, given enough time and opportunity, you can educate the religion out of someone.
Yes, in the circumstances you describe, I can see why some people might have a blinding need or overwhelming desire for a benevolent super entity or an imaginary friend to cope with the hardship and uncertainty, and the lack of basic control over one's own life. But let us see it for the coping mechanism that it is. Meanwhile, what about all of the people who are not in the kind of dire circumstances that you described? Such as your neighbors and mine? I suppose some remnants from the past linger well beyond their best-before date, eh? Not unlike the automatic fight-or-flight response, which has served our early ancestors well but presently does more harm than good to most of us. I think spirituality, for lack of a better word, has its place in our lives. But we should be mindful of the purpose it serves and try to limit it to the realm of personal refuge and comfort, and whatever beauty it might bring to our inner lives.