What makes the whole idea of religion so contemptible is not the concept of a Supreme Being who creates the Universe and the rules by which it operates. After all, that is no more absurd and ridiculous as some of the propositions put forward by cosmology and quantum physics.
What makes religion contemptible (yes, that is precisely the word I choose to use) is that it has the audacity to claim that ALL its beliefs must be accepted without question or the Creator will punish the non-believer while rewarding the faithful in Paradise. The evidence cited for this nonsense is usually some Bronze Age text which must be accepted on faith while multiple other very similar competing texts must be rejected and ignored completely.
How can anyone take that shit seriously?
My friend Tim used to say "The whole Universe is just a science project in God School." This concept survives today in the theories that tell us that the Universe is just software, or a hologram, or a simulation. "God" is not necessarily a supernatural entity, just someone more advanced than the rest of us.
One night, while watching Star Trek stoned fuckless, I asked Tim what he would do if he were Captain of the Enterprise and he looked out the porthole and saw God. He thought about it only briefly and then answered "I would send the crew to General Quarters."
Tim had every right to say that. He had stared into the abyss.
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Willard T. Moore (2016691), Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam on April 16, 1966. By his courage, aggressive fighting spirit and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of extreme personal danger, Lance Corporal Moore upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
https://homeofheroes.com/recipient/willard-t-moore/