I mean statism has almost become a religion, it's the religion of the 21st century. Now i`m an atheist myself, but i have many christian friends, and i also grew up in a christian household, my country is very religious.

And even though religion starts to lose power in the western world, it's influence finally starts to diminish, more and more atheists are coming out, and leaving religions.

And not just atheists, but even amongs my religious friends, they also gave up going to church, they remained chirsitan, but they just dont follow the mainstream churches, because we all know what organized religion does (hint: extreme pedophelia, genocide, crusade, spreading AIDS,etc) , and all my religious friends despise this, so even them as they cant give up religion, atlease they stopped going to churches and now they form decentralized religious communities, sort of like a praying community.

So you can see that even the religious people are now against the organized religion's powerhungry agenda, and the organized religions become more and more decentralized, and start to lose more and more influence.

However this is only 1 victory, the 100.000 year old beast (religion) finally is on its deathbead, a new beast has risen up, an even more ferocious beast, which is only 5000-6000 year old and has already caused more harm in these brief 5000 years, than the religion has ever caused in the 100.000 years.

The new beast is called the state, and its almost like a religion, an anachist has called it the religion of the 21st century, whereas many new atheists, despite the fact that they reject an invisible God ruling over them, they easily accept another invisible God ruling over them as the State.

Because the State fits almost every definition of a God:
-omnipotent: definitely, in the sense that it rules over all of our lives and can do whatever they want
-omnipresent: yup, mass surveilance, TV and Media propaganda, it's in your house, you neighborhood, and your mind
-omniscient: yes, it thinks that it knows everything,thus it makes you follow it as it thinks that it knows everything better than you do
-omni-belevolent: definitely not, but funny because even the christian god has comitted genocide and its depicted as belevolent, so the state comitting genocides in the 20st century, yet in every media its depicted as the wonderfuly protector of the nation
-invisible: yes
-requires worship: oh yes, definitely
-rewards the obedient and punishes the wicked? : yes, good statist drones get government aid, bad statist drones go to jail
-requires blood sacrifices: yes from time to time it requires people to sacrifice their lives to it: wars
-requires your money: yes its called taxes
-has earthly representatives: yes its called politicians
-has a place of worship: yes, its called government building or parliament building
-requires people to pray: yes, people protest before a state building to get more welfare
-wants to control our lives: yes, it infiltrates everywhere and wants to control every aspect of your life
-promises you good stuff but never gives you any: yes, before every election you are promised better wages and welfare, but after the election you actually get more regulation and taxes
-does it have inquisitors: yes government agents eliminate the heretics
-does it tolerate heretics: no
-does it like atheists: no, it punishes them with jail in some places
-does it like if you worship another God: no, it considers it treason
-does it commit genocies: yes, throughout the 19 and 20 centuries many examples are well known
-does it like gay people: no, in many european states they ban gay marriage
-does it like abortion: no, in many european states they ban abortion
etc...

So you see, the state is exactly as if it were a God like in the bible, but the big problem is that although the bible god doesnt exist, unfortunately the state God exists. And it's just like a cult, some people would die to protect it, and they are very fanatics.