Although I have a doctorate in psychology, I am not a philosophy or religion scholar, so I apologize if this is a naive question/thought/observation:
Instead of a question of God versus no God, could the central problem be the theory that there is a separation of God and humans, that God is A being, rather than God IS being? When there is separation, that fissure becomes a giant chasm that swallows up everything. If there is no separation, then there is no one to pray to, no contradictory books dictating behavior that are handed down from the sky, etc.
The Jains sound very evolved, but the Aboriginals from Australia may be even more so and seem to get overlooked. The have had the longest continuous culture on the planet and their spiritual system in which man is not separate seems to be the oldest and most elegant in existence. See Voices of the First Day by Robert Lawlor.
