I think that religious belief is mental illness, and in most cases it's inherited. It can skip generations, ie a child and his parents may or may not have the same views on the subject. The degree of religion-based mental illness depends on how delusional the individual is, their addiction to prayer and ritual, self-destructive behaviors, etc.

Why didn't Jesus just come out and say what he meant, rather than confusing his followers with metaphors and parables that were open to all kinds of interpretation, which has resulted in all manner of horrible events? It is apparent that the whole story is fraudulent and that there never was, and never will be, a god.