Wayne, I like what you said about uncertainty. The way I see it, the less we know about a proposition, the more staunchly we tend to defend it. It happens in science too much. But it happens in religion, even more. In the end, we can know with some certainty what we feel at the moment. And with a great deal of reasoning we can be pretty sure of the proposition "I think I think; therefore I think I am." Further afield, we actually know very little. So I tend to think that the truth of a religious proposition lies not in some essence of fact, but in how we would feel about living in a group, a society, a world that embraces the same proposition. For example "all people are equal before the law." When religious ideas and practices help us to be more kind, reflective, and open to other people, I think they can help us feel better about our place in society. And they can help us be part of a happier society. It is my opinion, however, that a great deal of theolog...
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Those who have grown up in dysfunctional families will, I think, believe that close associations far afield from family might be especially useful. One interesting outcome is that people who do not fit well in their families have other institutions to turn to for help - institutions neither assured to exist nor supported by the notion that the purpose of every institution is to turn a profit.
I see Marxism's motives as being more Christian than capitalism's. Where it comes off the rails is the Bolshevik notion that one may rightly use any means to achieve a desired end.