one prominent reason why religion continues to flourish in this modern age is the " herd behavior " of human beings. People consider belief in a flying monkey or a virgin mother as " normal " and even respectable since everyone else in society believes in such concepts and hold them in high regard. People generally don't have individualistic thinking, they derive a significant portion of their thinking and beliefs from the society's thinking and beliefs. If the overwhelming majority of the society consider religion not only to be true but also to be true, then individuals also develop such thinking and beliefs.
It has been my observation that though both men and women are vulnerable to this " herd behavior " , women by nature are more " agreeable " and " fashionable " ,and more likely to blindly follow a belief since " everyone else believes in it " . Women, by nature, place a lot of importance on winning others' approval and affection. They do not oppose the absurd and sometimes plain evil practices of religion, as they might lose social approval if they do so. Some men, on the other hand , like to question and criticise society's irrational beliefs- they feel less compelled to do and believe what everyone else does and believes, less compelled to win social approval .
[ it is a well documented fact in personality psychology that women tend to be more " agreeable " ]