[Piers]

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Generally, folk seem to have no problem when the discussion ends with the side that concludes Mathematics was invented

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Mathematics is a form of reasoning which when incorporated within any model greatly increases the ability of the model to create accurate predictions. This point has been demonstrated numerous times over the millennia.

Mathematics is a tool for increasing the usability of the models we reason within. It makes no direct statement about the world. Its justification is in how useful it is.

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Yet, when we talk about Religion being invented (doesn’t matter whether is was invented or discovered for my point here) folk seem to assume “therefore it must be bogus” as

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The problem is not that religion is invented, but that in contrast to mathematics it makes firm statement about the world.

Mathematics: If the combining of tomatoes corresponds to the laws of natural numbers then if we take two tomatoes and combine them with two different tomatoes we will have four tomatoes.

Religion: Anyone who does not believe in my Christian god will go to Hell.

I think most people would agree that the combining of tomatoes does not follow the laws of natural numbers. For instance if you add a billion tomatoes to one tomato, how many tomatoes do you have – and how much tomato juice do you have. However that is fine, no one expects a perfect isomorphism between model and reality.

Religious principles typically allow no such flexibility.