Religion: a survival mechanism?

While one aspect of religion is as a form of maintaining group cohesion, I think another aspect of it is as a teaching tool, which also underlies the group cohesion. Religious ideas passed down through generations would have included rules on eating (safe foods, preparing foods .ie. Jewish Talmud?), social rules and social organization rules (rulers, lords, authorities, social taboos), origin ideas, and incorporation of ideas. Think of all the rules that the bible contains, and the proscriptions of punishment for breaking the rules. Authorities of religion, be they priests, shamans, or Kings/Queens, could use religion as a form of social control through learning the rules and practices. If you look at not only western religious practices, but world wide religious ideas you should see a pattern of proscribed acceptable practices and punishments for transgresions. These may also include origins and punishments dealt by supernatural beings to the poeple who did not obey.