In my opinion, religion is just a guideline as to how you should live your life, with the essence being, don't hurt others, your self or the community in general.
Do good and be a part of humanity and work to make it a better place.
I would just call it "common sense", not religion. And I follow to the same principles, as an atheist. You do not need religion to be good.
That's very true, I agree, you could call it common sense. But the thing is not everyone is the same, and the idea of no eternal consequences really gives people ideas to mess things up.
What I'm trying to say is, religion is a result of really smart marketing, but it's important to guide people with the herd mentality, many people don't steal rape or do crazy shit because they believe in afterlife and that whatever they do has consequences.