Why is Religion Important to Mankind?

In an interesting article called "The Power of Religion" by Will Durant, there are some interesting insights and ideas about what religion has to offer society.

The first paragraph is as follows:

Religion is the last subject that the intellect begins to understand. In our youth, we may have resented, with proud superiority, its cherished incredibilities; in our less confident years, we marvel at its prosperous survival in a secular and scientific age, its patient resurrections after whatever deadly blows by Epicurus, or Lucretius, or Lucian, or Machiavelli, or Hume, or Voltaire. What are the secrets of this resilience?

The entire article is intriguing with its reasons as to why religion has survived. It gives hope. It brings order to society. Dr. Durant, as near as I can tell, is an agnostic who nevertheless admires the good that religion can bring to people and to civilization.