The Origin of Religion

I've got a project to do for school, and I thought I'd get anon's input. The topic I've chosen is The Origin of Religion. Now, don't get the wrong idea, this doesn't mean I think all religion came from one source, I just haven't been able to come up with a better title. Basically, I'm going at this with a purely scientific standpoint, looking at the reasons religions are formed, how they evolve, and why they've lasted so long. I'll also include some of the first instances of religion and why were how they were.

So far, I have the most functions of religion as:
To help give moral support.
To keep a stable social structure.
To "motivate" people.

These are, of course, a bit simplistic, but I think I've come close. If anyone has objections, changes, or anything else regarding this project, I'd be very much obliged if you'd submit them in a civil manner.

I'm done with this re-inforce deal. We're both right in different ways, and it serves no purpose to argue further.

As for the second half, surprisingly enough, I just wrote an essay on the subject a week or so ago. Frankly, I disagree with you completely, but could we have it any other way? The majority of your argument lies on the assumption that human will exists, and seeing as you have done nothing to prove this, the rest would seem to be invalidated. Now, I'll try to sort of summarize my essay, but if you want the full text, just say so, and I'll paste it. It relies on several interlocking principles, but I'm sure you, of all people, won't mind a bit of length to the text.

Assume you have two balls. One ball is struck in such a way that it will roll directly towards the other. Given the momentum of the ball, the masses, the volumes, and all the other relevant facts, you could accurately calculate what the paths of each ball would be as they strike each other. There is no uncertainty to this. The only uncertainty in calculation comes when not all of the data is present, but seeing as the laws of physics in practice need no calculations, then the motions of the two balls will never vary. The only factors that effect these two balls are the state they are in before they are struck, the environment, and the striking. The ball itself has no influence once it is struck.

I believe that this same principle can be applied to humans. The only factors that would effect them would be the genetics (the state that the ball is in before being struck), the environment (which includes other people), and the catalytic event (the ball being struck or the baby being born). All other things arise from these factors. The most common confusion comes when people believe that the brain and it's complicated functions are above the laws of physics and attribute this to a spirit or some other entity. It has been proven though, that the brain is simply an extremely complicated series of electrical pulses and chemical reactions. Given this, it would be safe to assume that seeing as the person in question has absolutely no effect on his life, the choices made aren't his.

Now, the radical ideas contained in this have seemed to shock most people I've presented it to into immediate disbelief. "This can't be right, otherwise I wouldn't be able to make a decision." Well, the knowledge of the system by the system is simply part of the system. It is an advanced form of fate in which fate affects itself, but seeing as the fate was fated to effect itself, it was already fate that this change should happen. So, before you reject this, take a good look at the facts and see what can really be disproven. What flaws you see here are probably simply a side-effect of the summarizing, the essay's text does it much more justice.

Also, I believe this would be a good time for a favorite quote of mine:  "Always see, no matter what you see."