Do humans need religion?

Its an incomplete question.

Do they need it to fly to the moon? No.

Do they need it to live? No. (Food, water & air is enuf.)

Do they need it to be happy? Yes for some, no for some.

Do they need it to believe there's heaven, hell and an afterlife? Yes.

The answer will change depending on the purpose one needs religion for which is not defined, so the question is vague & cannot be answered. Can someone rephrase the question?

Do they need it to believe there's heaven, hell and an afterlife? Yes.

Its the same as saying "If one wants to believe there's heaven, hell and an afterlife, yes."

"If" is a conditional clause. If one doesn't want to believe there's heaven, hell and an afterlife, then one doesn't need religion.

We are actually in agreement that some want to believe in it, some don't.

It depends on which school. Mahayana is big on heaven/hell. Theravada not so. Vajrayana, I dunno enuf abt it to say.

Correct, Buddhists don't, or rather, are not supposed to worship gods. The Buddha himself was merely a reluctant teacher who din even wanna teach at first. He made it abundantly clear to everyone that he should'nt be treated as god. Originally, bowing to the Buddha was a form of paying respect in his culture. Its not worshipping. However many people today including lay Buddhists turned it into god worship, asking for forgiveness etc, against the wishes of the Buddha. The Buddha is dead and gone. He cannot forgive anyone or save them from their problems. He is not a god.

From the Buddhist text, nirvana is neither existence nor non existence. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism does not believe in a soul. After you attain nirvana, with no soul and with neither existence nor non existence, there is no more "you." It can't be described as an afterlife. But if you have not attained nirvana yet, your consciousness will transfer to another body. That is a kind of afterlife.

Sorry if this strayed from the original topic.