Emotional need? I might be able to find a better descriptive later within the reaches of my brain. Just bored and typing...
We have an entire history of the whole of humanity saying one thing and your Godless hypothetical saying another. If this were a scientific pursuit. I like the side with all the evidence versus none.
Have you ever known any religious people that have lost their religion and have completely fallen apart? They exist. How about people in true despair? Whether it is health issues or the impoverished or otherwise. How about addicts that have no other recourse (according to their own psychology) but to call out to a God that might not even exist according to you or I? All of recorded history is full of this kind of stuff. And accompanied by some system of belief. A yearning for something greater than one's self.
I could also go on a lengthy diatribe here about general human ignorance. Much of which, I would guess, you would similarly use to show the folly of religion. And how does this ignorance suddenly rectify itself? When we can see as societies, even Western societies, a dumbing down of the culture. Advances in technology actually accentuate this do they not? We are more and more asking the culture to NOT think. How does this lead to a progression where God (as concept) has no place? Again, I am a former (near or actual) anti-theist. But I've been through all these topics a thousand times in my own head and in conversations with others. I am comfortable where I've landed.
You say all the good religion can do doesn't require religion but that does not involve the basic human emotional needs of millions outside of yourself. People like you, me and others - are able to rationalize, and use reason and logic (and so on) but there are many people that don't. You can say I am not giving them enough credit - all I am doing is observing what has happened over the course of humanity. Humans tend to place Order over Chaos.
Think about your own view. And what ultimately leads people to religion (it's not just what is taught to them). And explain how that goes away. And if it doesn't go away, it doesn't make any difference how much an objective view says it's not needed. It's needed, if it is, because people want it. "Want" is the not the best word...need it. Again, this is part of the initial question I need to try to do a better job of articulating. Philosophy was never a great interest of mine. I like facts and logic and science, etc. But I've tried to become a hack science/religious pundit over the years as you can tell.
I think it is very important to make one distinction here. God, belief in a God, belief in a higher power (from the God of Abraham to some kind of...collective consciousness) and religion can be mutually exclusive. I know you know this good and well, JT, I am just making the emphasis. I don't think people in the year 2100 will be more inclined to follow religions as much as I think there might be a new religion resembling, for lack of a better example, Deism. I just don't think it goes away. Ever. Because we can't explain everything away with science. Even if we can, we can't get people to listen. There are otherwise intelligent people that refuse to believe in Evolution. It's not for lack of education, it's for a simple incuriosity to hear different. That is the kind of emotional response I am talking about. Maybe I can elaborate later on.