Is the modern tendency to elevate objects and interests to a near fetish level actually filling the vacuum left by the absence of religion in a secular, largely agnostic, world? I am thinking that zealotry for Linux, Windows, Mac, XBox, PlayStation, Wii, Ford, Chevy, Mercedes, BMW, may look like “religion” (and we jokingly call it out as such) because it *is* religion in a sense. I think possibly something in the human psyche *seeks out* worship. Curious if studies have been done along these lines. I saw one that said that belief in aliens is a modern substitute for religion and I very much believe that. I think it is very interesting to explore what other substitutes may have evolved and why.

If I can find some time this is definitely one area of human psychology I would love to explore…