If Religion Increases Evolutionary Fitness, Then Shouldn't Atheists Become Religious?

Stumbled across a series of articles by atheists harping on or lamenting religion. Now as a religious adherent, I reject a lot of their disparaging remarks. But let's put that all aside and just *for argument sake* let's say atheism is true and that nature is the whole of reality and there is nothing but the material, physical. Let's just say that. On the assumption that's true, then, of course, all religion is illusory and must be the product of evolution. But here's the kicker: even on this atheist assumption that all religion is bogus, apparently there is quite a bit of research supporting the superior mental health benefits of religious belief over atheism, and that religious adherents have a higher evolutionary fitness and conferred survival advantage. (Now I have done almost next to no deep research on this and am basing this largely on what these atheist researchers say (see below for a sampling of quotes).  But assuming these researchers are correct in what they say, then it raises an interesting quasi-paradox of sorts (for lack of a better descriptor) that we can put in the following way:

(1) Atheists lament the 'ignorance' and 'superstitious' beliefs of faithful religious adherents---many of whom reject evolution in favor of worship and loyal devotion and belief in what atheists consider to be invisible, imaginary 'deities' that don't exist and are just figments of their imaginations. To atheists, religion is the epitome of superstitious ignorance and irrational backward, backwater belief that lacks any basis in reality, and that we would be better off without if we could just knock some sense into these ignorant people, and get them to accept the reality of scientific naturalism and evolution and so on.

(2) Yet in a twist, the atheist view entails that religion must have some adaptive, survival advantage that was naturally selected for in the course of evolution (And as these atheist researchers say, confers a number of advantages over atheism in terms of mental health, life expectancy, survival advantage, improved evolutionary fitness, and more).

(3) Now atheists don't seem to have a problem with products of natural evolution. For how can you criticize or 'blame' something that increases your fitness and survivability? That's just the natural development of things.  But this raises a number of questions:

*First, how can an atheists really criticize religious beliefs (even if bogus) when it still confers such adaptive evolutionary advantages?

*Second, is it misguided or 'wrong' for atheists to want to convince adherents to abandon religion and to want to stamp out religion if it has so greatly contributed to our evolutionary success as a species. Isn't that illogical, irrational, 'anti-science' to support eradication of religion when doing so suggests that it would disadvantage us evolutionarily as a species?

*Third, in terms of evolutionary advantage, wouldn't it be to an atheist's personal advantage to then adopt religion? Indeed, wouldn't such a move be the logical,  rational, scientifically supported choice to make that is in the best interests of self?

(Sample quotes)

😆 That's great

The anger some 'hard' atheists (deniers) sometimes show towards the thing they don't believe exists is often displaced anger I think. What they're more angry at is the people who forced-fed them on a daily diet of religious dogma or worse, taught them to despise themselves for the way they were born.

It may be true that religious belief confers health and longevity benefits on average but why shouldn't other ways of approaching life perform equally well? Lifestyle choices play a large part in how long we live and to what standard of health.

I have no religious belief but neither do I pour scorn on thoughtful believers but I do take many measures to maintain good health: When the weather permits I walk about 4 miles per day at a brisk pace, use minimal amounts of salt and suger in my cooking, stay strictly within health dept. guidance on alcohol intake and watch my weight carefully.

I'm 67 at the moment and I'll probably make it to 88 which is the age at which my parents died. That means I'll outlive many people of faith.

Another thing - I never underestimate the importance of good psychological health and maybe that explains the benefit(s) of religious belief? If a religious 'community' provides support, common purpose and direction, that is very likely to improve a person's mental state.

But of course none of this justifies in any way subscribing to a belief system that a person feels is most probably false!

Thanks for sharing. I'm not sure what other factors are involved but the one quote above says health benefits in addition to and independent of "social supportive community"

"..health benefits in addition to and independent of "social supportive community" "

That's as maybe but if I was confronted with the choice of finding religious belief from somewhere or dying tomorrow, I'd have to die tomorrow.

I'm quite enjoying the irony that those who have some expectation of a future existence in some 'better place' are made to wait that little bit longer for it?

That's funny. I guess there's irony all the way around then