Hmmm. You've got a good point there. I didn't read the OP closely enough and just noticed the positive enthusiasm.
While I don't agree with the OP's negative sentiment, it's an attitude not a brain defect and might be there for understandable reasons; surrounded by aggressive theists, a recent deconvert, fascination with a new subject, ... . I'd like to hear a clarification from the OP -- maybe like my haste they were equally hasty and had a different idea in mind.
To the point;
Banning religion: Not possible. The experiments have been tried. The Greeks and Romans and even the Kahns did not bother with this (well, till the Romans forced Christianity at the sword and the Greeks banned all churches that were not Greek Orthodox (note the visible return of 'pagans' when this ban was only lifted this past year because of EU laws Greece is subject to). In more modern times, the Communists (USSR and China) tried it, and decided that they would work with religious groups instead of persecuting them. In the case of the old USSR, this was quite a mutual arrangement.
Having religion go away naturally: Possible but not likely.
The real issue: Superstition or Supernaturalism or both depending on where you draw the line.
A virtue from science and philosophy is to hold any supported idea as true but to do so tentatively.
I'm OK with someone who is a cultural Christian (or theist) who has respect for others. The problem is that the books, if taken seriously, have some nasty things in them. T. Jefferson was right to snip out 90% of the NT and keep only 10% as a reference for his personal use.
