Baltar--
There's a fundamental problem with your question in that you are asking a question ("Why do people cling to belief systems?") and an assertion ("Religion is an outdated construct.") at once, so you're getting more responses to your assertion than to your question. Furthermore, with this assertion, you attempt to place your belief above scrutiny by excluding it from the question, when in reality dismissing religion is also a belief system that is subject to the same validity claims.
That said, I think what you're really trying to ask is why people cling to the anachronistic structures, observances and proclamations of various religions. A true spiritual practice is very different from the external aspects of any religion it may be associated with.
So the real question as I see it is, "Why do people cling to belief systems as opposed to conducting an inward practice?"
And that question is very easily answered. Fear. A belief system is a warm blanket against the fears that ego raises when faced with the unanswered questions of an infinite universe of which we can only empirically describe a finite portion. A true practice involves opening your eyes to the stark, mind-bending reality of existing among unknowns and infinites. It's challenging to the core, it requires a high level of consciousness, it requires an unwavering determination to understand and accept whatever the universe throws at you realizing that it might well pull the rug out from under your beliefs at any moment.
Not many people have the stomach for that; it is far more rewarding than most people can bring themselves to believe they deserve.
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