Why does religion persist?

With religion dying, science growing, wars being waged over pointless age old arguments, why? Why does religion persist when it so obviously has given us nothing aside from war, oppression and death. Almost every war in history was over religion (Crusades, Iraq War, Inquisition) and every well known genocide was because of religion (Holocaust... did you know that Hitler's acts were a result of his strong devotion to Christianity?). And with so many of the world's greatest minds (Abraham Lincoln, Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Nietzsche, Socrates) being atheists, why do so many still sacrifice their time and effort to pursue dreams instead of reality?