I have, for a number of reasons, understood religions as art, rather than a business. A lot of people will say that yes there is aesthetic value to religions, but that's not quite what I mean. Yes there is a religious aesthetic, but no I mean in a more general sense religion is its own category of art, like painting, drama, or photography, religion may actually be the highest expression of art possible. It is in fact the highest because often the subject is the observer and the observed at the same time -- that is a person reflecting upon the picture while being painted is a believer. The narrative that drives the religion and its rituals paints an entire world which is perceived by the believer and engrossed in this fantasy is his reality.

Unfortunately, it's not evident to the observer that he is in fact in this picture, and that only when one leaves a religion can one realize the truth of it; however many do not because they are simply too angry with the fantasy that religions profess. So we have this dissonance between atheists and believers where the believers know the atheists will lead them away from the path or from the belief, and it is true they will because as soon as one realizes the truth about a religion the picture which is painted by it comes undone and the former believer finds himself in the real world which is without order, without narrative, and in many ways without the meaning and feelings associated with a religion. So what makes believers fear atheists is the intuitive knowledge of the truth.

Many atheist and academics take the a highly rationalist perspective and analyze religions for different aspects such as rationality, history, biological effects, and so on, but the truth is that none of these methods really allow one to understand religions. They are not about reason or history, though they use these tools to create the reality, religions are not at all about that. They are and always will be about an artist's art.

Nietzsche's overman is in fact not some special human, but the artist that creates a religion. This is because in order to invent a new morality you must be an artist with an eye for the human mind. We are not born in vacuums, instead we're born into societies with other people in constant need of each other to satisfy our needs an desires. It's through these relationships that we find meaning in the world. One major aspect of religions is in taming these relationships and creating solid narratives behind them. There are many side effects of creating these narratives which many theorists have reflected upon, but they are simply side-effects.