But you can't measure the extent to which this ignorance reduces the quality of their life as they live it. So, if you accept there is nothing after death, you may well (and should be encouraged to) see more value in what you have here and now, since it is all you have and will ever have. What better motive to pursue your interests, dreams, and to expand your mind? And yes, taking crack could certainly be part of that - though I would personally suggest psychadelics.
In short, religiosity erodes the incentive to maximise your potential. Or to be more specific, it erodes the potential that can blossom from a lifetime of persuing truth.
I know that. But it is religiosity that provides a ready-made excuse not to. Indeed, arguably its central message is to resist many of the paths that can lead to the kind of fulfillment and human progress that I refer to. Non-religiosity can also have its downsides - a sense of nihilism, lack of meaning and purpose, etc - but as a concept it is value free. You can take what you want from it, without any of the bad ideas or outright lies that religion imposes on you.
Sorry, but wishy-washy phrases such as ‘the mysteries of consciousness’ set alarm bells ringing. What mysteries? Our ‘consciousness’ is simply a series of biochemical reactions to which we imbue undue significance. If you’re that interested in it, I suggest the answers will be found in science, not ‘spirituality’.
Surely this depends on the verdict going your way, for those who believe in an upstairs-downstairs afterlife.
As one that doesn't, the prospect of ceasing to exist doesn't bother me at all personally, as long as pain isn't involved in the process. I'm far more concerned about the distress, inconvenience and possible mess left behind for others at such a cessation.
Wishy-washy phrases like "the mysteries of conciousness" are only toxic by association, because they've so often been utilised by wishy-washy idiots like Deepak Chopra. But that doesn't necessarily render them inherently useless.
What about the 'nature' of conciousness? Would you object to that too? You take a psychadelic drug to change the biochemistry of your brain and to get closer to understanding the nature of consciousness. In this sense, spirituality can often rely on science, yet you flippantly treat them as mutually incompatible.