I don't think we should discard things like the health benefits of rituals.

Look, for example, at one of the most secular countries in the world, Norway. Got a bit of a depression/anxiety crisis.

And, take this study.

Strong spiritual values were positively associated with increased rates of current depressive disorder and decreased rates of current alcohol use disorder. Using "atheist" as the reference category, Catholics had higher lifetime odds of single episodes of depression whilst Protestants had higher lifetime odds of anxiety disorder and lower lifetime odds of alcohol use disorders.

BUT

The results of this study suggest that depressive episodes often lead to a search for spirituality and that religion may be helpful in overcoming depression or becoming less vulnerable to relapsing. The associations between religion, spiritual values, and mental health have not been fully elucidated and warrant further exploration.

That is, these people aren't depressed and anxious because they're religious, they become religious because they're anxious and depressed.

Here's another paper on religion as a coping mechanism. One on mindfulness decreasing stress. One on low spirituality correlating with low resilience to depression/anxiety...

Anyway, I'd argue that this doesn't prove religion is "real" but maybe goes to show that we need to be aware of its material benefits and compensate for its absence.