OK, so I was raised in the old Presbyterian Church and was taught that Man is separated from God by sin and that the only path to grace and salvation is faith. You must study Scripture, live a good life of service and work. But nothing you do will affect Gods' decision regarding your salvation, you must simply have faith. In order to become eligible for the Lords' Supper (Communion) you were supposed to Confess or Witness your faith in front of the congregation. However, a year or so before I was due to do this, I put my foot down and stopped attending. I'd had enough of the nonsense and fairy tales!

That said, having studied the Reformation and 19th Century hisotry at school, and delved into other periods and topics for my own curiosity, I do see your line of argument, and it is a sound one.

Of course, I'm more inclined to see it as a process of liberation, since the role of religion in propping up autocratic and authoritarian regimes is well-known..

Nietzsche was pretty much barking mad, but he almost got it. His 'overman' is a monstrous and amoral fantasy that does contain a seed of real meaning. He just didn't understand what the Will was for and how it could be used except for domination

Faced as we are with the chaotic, impersonal creativity of Nature and our own existential absurdity within it, we have two choices. We either surrender to it and drift, like the people you describe, or we stand against it and make our own meaning by brute force of will. I decided to help people, and found a way to do it. It means bugger-all to the Universe at large, but it meant a lot to me, and something to the people I helped. That's all you can do, but it's enough!