The belief that the human soul longs for freedom leads me to the first major ramification, and I so address it because I believe it to be more primary in its effect upon the happiness of the world than all other ramifications.   Essentially, religion is a set of beliefs that define one's view of life.  It may incorporate 1 god, multiple gods, or no god.  The problem with all religions, including atheism, is that ultimately there is not concrete, undeniable proof that there either is or is not a god.  Pointing to evidence that the Bible, Koran, or other religious scriptures are or may be in error, does not equate with proof that there is no God.  From the perspective of the spaghetti monster, what is atheism but another version of this monster?  Therefore, all religions/world views, including atheism, are built upon faith or beliefs and opinions.  None of us has all the answers.  To assume otherwise is to assume one's infallibility. Freedom and liberty are every man's and woman's rights.  I believe they are God-given, and hence inalienable.  To be free, God must give us the power to deny Him and choose our own path, or we are not free.  Indeed, all of us have the power to choose our own path, although there are consequences; but, if we believe in a God, then we must acknowledge that He has given us this gift.  Surely, if He wanted, He could force our obedience.  That He does not should be an example that we should not of each other, except to protect the rights of others.  Who is God that needs us to force others to accept Him?  Surely, God would prefer self-chosen obedience rather than forced.  If God is a god of virtue, and He must to be all powerful, then He must abide by the laws of virtue.  As virtue is that which promotes freedom, it cannot be a virtue to limit, by force, the freedom that God himself has given all men, except in self-defense and to defend the rights of others. If you are an atheist, surely you must recognize the inherent rights of the other and appreciate that for society to remain happiest, it should be free.  He/she should also recognize the existence of traits, such as self-responsibility, that are necessary for a society to remain free, and that he or she will benefit from the freedom of others in, for example, the scientific advances contributed by others.  Surely, he/she would appreciate the contributions of John Stuart Mill, who wrote volumes on Freedom. If there is a God, and He created us, I have so far identified 6 basic stances He could take with regards to His creation. 1.He could have created us and metaphorically walked away, not caring about  the type or whether or not any proof was left and showing no interest. 2.He could have created us and metaphorically walked away, purposefully leaving no definitive objective proof, and showing no interest. 3.He could have created us and purposefully designed the creation so that there would be no definitive, objective proof of Him to any of His creation at any time. 4.He could have created us and definitively revealed Himself to some, but purposefully designed the creation so that the majority would not have undeniable objective proof. 5.He could have created us, definitively revealed Himself to some, and left concrete evidence that we, as a world, could eventually find/figure out. 6.He could have created us and left us with undisputable proof of His creation plainly evident for all that have been and are self-aware. We can eliminate stance number 6 because it is, or should be, apparent to all that it is not the case.  Stances 1 & 2 would be an odd move for a creator, for if there were no passion for the creation, then why create?  That leaves options 3-5 as possibilities. Of the remainder of the stances left, the stance God would have adopted would have depended on the purpose of the creation.  Why did he create us?   While the purpose may not be clear, I think we can be fairly sure that there is one.  I believe we can deduce further about whatever purpose based on what we know about the world. There is good in this world. There is evil in this world. God does not prevent evil from happening.  God allows even the innocent to suffer. It would seem odd that the world we see were the only place where God's purposes could be achieved, for many are there that have lived for only a short period of time, too short to learn much, if anything. From what we know, I can deduce three possible purposes.  1. God created us for some form of amusement and really doesn't care that much.  2. If God is good, He allows evil things to happen as a test.  3. God allows beings to evolve with time and perhaps the spirit passes through the world more than once, so that it can learn and progress. (reincarnation)  Purposes 2 and 3 might be fueled by a desire on God's part to have worthy companionship. What other purposes could their be?  All purposes that require our knowledge of Him could be ruled out peremptorily.  Therefore, whatever purposes remain would require our not knowing definitively.  Most purposes that meet that criteria fall under the category of test. The first purpose seems oxymoronical at the least, and positively unvirtuous at the worst.   The second and third purposes, therefore, would seem more reasonable. I am not a student of religions that believe in reincarnation, so I don't feel I can really comment more on this line of thought at the present.  I personally believe this life is more of a test.  If the creation were designed as a testing grounds and He wanted to test what we would do with freedom given us, then He would have preferred a position in which we would not know of His existence for sure, because only then would our freedom of action be unfettered.  Therefore, God would have designed a scenario where absolute proof of His existence would not be obtainable, at least to varying degrees, and then in vain would we seek it.  If we knew He existed and that there were inescapable consequences for our actions, to some degree we would not be as free to act and this life would not be a valid test to see how we would use the gift of free agency, which is my opinion for the purpose of life.   Irrespective of whether or not this is so, it should be apparent that to progress in spirituality and freedom, one needs to master the virtues.  So, whether or not we know there is a God is not as important as what we do with the freedom and opportunity given us.  For myself, it is not the self-professed religiosity of the individual, it is their desire to pursue and accept and live the truth and how we treat others with the freedom we are given that matters.