Well, on theory, yes, but in practice, it's a dichotomy. I strongly believe that materialism counters progress. For example, if we all believed in a greater mission for our civilization, all our efforts would be focused on building space ships and space colonization, not wasting efforts in buying a bigger home, a newer car model, buying new fancy clothes, getting a crazy haircut, and so on. Yes, there are people who are not on the either extreme today, but these are not the majority. I am happy that geeks start to embrace minimalism, simplify life, and focus our limited seconds on this planet in something productive, but, again, we're a minority. The majority needs guidance and religion has been effective for the masses so far.