my friends are all either suicidal, drunks,druggies ,in rehab or depressed

[Radical Plato]

I'm not religious but it does give people some meaning in life and a sense of community. They are definitly  happier with less dysfunction and social ills.

You obviously fail to see the bigger picture.  Religion creates division and more dysfunction.  And while religion may cause a greater sense of community for those who believe in that particular faith, it puts you in conflict with those of other faiths or no faith.  

Let's look at IRAQ for instance, a highly religious country with extremely divided communities, little happiness and constant warfare and terrorism.  Yeah, Go religion!

I am yet to meet a religious person who is happier than a non religious person, how you come to such a conclusion is beyond me.

[chaos]

Well, Nietzsche is using metaphor to get his point across.  You can't kill something that never existed.  I think he meant humanity has seen through it's own delusions and only then realized that such delusions were essential to life.  And now that we know the truth we can't go back to being deluded.  This newly founded truth is the source of modern day angst or distress.

There are those who desperately rally against this new found knowledge and use psychological techniques like denial and force themselves to believe in something greater, but such people in modern times simply appear foolish.

Shut up "E-kul"

[Natural Man]

Well, Nietzsche is using metaphor to get his point across.  You can't kill something that never existed.  I think he meant humanity has seen through it's own delusions and only then realized that such delusions were essential to life.  And now that we know the truth we can't go back to being deluded.  This newly founded truth is the source of modern day angst or distress.

There are those who desperately rally against this new found knowledge and use psychological techniques like denial and force themselves to believe in something greater, but such people in modern times simply appear foolish.

anti depressant consumption is exploding in the so called civilized, atheist world. People cant heal themselves anymore with spirtuality, family, individuals are lonely , atomized, they suffer so they need pills to feel happy. God is now in a pill. Shrinks are the new pastors and monks. Religions were natural anti depressants. Science , rationalism, destroyed this natural anti depressant and substituted it with another.
We probably are nearing the end of mankind, which is now dying of old age and becoming more and more childish and dumb, like a devolution.

[da_vinci]

That's because many can't manage "life".. alcholol, antidepresants, etc... comes to "help". It was religion earlier. Only real solution is an effective repair of the outlook/thought process. That should happen in families first, the issue is - many families are dysfunctional to begin with..