You should check out Awakening From the Meaning Crisis by John Vervaeke. He argues there is an important spiritual part of being and knowing, that is partly or totally lacking in many people nowadays. And no that does not mean sky fairies. Even though you think people think sky fairies. It sounds to me like you would learn something from the series. I found it extremely humbling. He explains it way better than I ever could.
Even if spirits are totally a figment of the imagination, would that make them (or their impact) any less real? If you don’t believe in them, if you are Educated and know they are not there, then they’re not there. Maybe they even abandon you, who knows. You might suffer the consequences of that and not even know it. If you believe they are there, that could have a very real effect on your life. So then, aren’t they there, in a sense? It’s hard to explain. These are my undeveloped ideas, you should just listen to Vervaeke, not me.
Treebeard