From what I have studied, people are naturally spiritual beings with innate knowlege of a higher power; even from a biological perspective "religious" behavior is observed in animals such as chimpanzees and elephants.
This is why even in the case of modern atheists, you see them essentially deifying "science" and "evolution" as though they are a secular religion.
My theory is that if one denies the existence of any higher power then this leads to a purely materialist view of the world, which historically has been a key component of socialism; Marx for example believed unhappiness was primarily the result of material factors beyond the individual's control (ex. capitalism) leading to one to deify the state in hopes that it will bring them happiness, likewise Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, the forefathers of modern progressivism were atheists.
On another extreme it could lead to total nihilism; as if one denies any power higher than themselves then they may essentially end up deifying and worshiping the self; which seems to be a key mode of thought in many nihilistc, left wing teens chanting "be whoever you want to be!"; or in more extreme cases individuals who promoted sexual deviancy like the Marquis De Sade used a philosophy of nihilism to justify it, arguing that man was nothing more than an animal and shouldn't restrain any of their impulses./
This is why even in the case of modern atheists, you see them essentially deifying "science" and "evolution" as though they are a secular religion.
My theory is that if one denies the existence of any higher power then this leads to a purely materialist view of the world, which historically has been a key component of socialism; Marx for example believed unhappiness was primarily the result of material factors beyond the individual's control (ex. capitalism) leading to one to deify the state in hopes that it will bring them happiness, likewise Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, the forefathers of modern progressivism were atheists.
On another extreme it could lead to total nihilism; as if one denies any power higher than themselves then they may essentially end up deifying and worshiping the self; which seems to be a key mode of thought in many nihilistc, left wing teens chanting "be whoever you want to be!"; or in more extreme cases individuals who promoted sexual deviancy like the Marquis De Sade used a philosophy of nihilism to justify it, arguing that man was nothing more than an animal and shouldn't restrain any of their impulses./