I don't really use the term 'religion' much. I use the term 'worship'. We all worship something (i.e. trust).
UGH, I hate the word "worship." We don't all worship something, I hate the term and the entire idea of worshiping something. I don't worship anything, it's a word that demeans the person doing the worshiping if you ask me.
People like the OP worship their own understanding of the world above all else. They worship their own ability to reason and their own intellect above all else.
It's a poor use of the word. Just because someone doesn't believe in God, doesn't mean they are arrogant. That's what you're saying here, someone who "worships their own understanding of the world" is arrogant. You can have a certain understanding of the world and believe you are correct, without "worshiping" anything.
Sometimes, and this is not a reflection of my opinion of the OPs intellect in particular, I wish people knew how much horsepower they had under the hood. They might be more inclined to blind faith.
How would increased intellect lead to MORE blind faith? We see the opposite if you want to look at the statistics.
Here's is what I believe is self evident: that there is a creator that made everything. Only a hardened heart rejects that imo.
Egads, this old chestnut. There is nothing less self-evident than a 'creator who made everything.' In fact fewer and fewer people every year believe in such a thing. The old idea of a creator deity is rapidly fading. The only reason you believe it is because you were raised to believe it.
You suggested arrogance in the OP, in that he "worships his own understanding of the world." Isn't that exactly what have you done here? You have stated your personal understanding of the world and then labeled it "self-evident" as if everyone should see it your way. As if your understanding of the world is so obviously correct that everyone should easily see it. In fact, those who don't see it your way have a "hardened heart", right? How are you not behaving in the same way as you accuse the OP? How are you not worshiping your personal understanding of the world?