To me, letting go of the idea of a god means letting go of the idea of an afterlife. This is it. When we're done here it all ends. That's a pretty weighty issue in my mind and I would assume many others struggle with it as well. Many authors I've read suggest that the wonder and beauty of life is sufficient, that our experiences here can give us a sense of meaning.
I just finished reading the first chapter of Dawkin's "The Blind Watchmaker". Are we (individually) really only here to insure that we (collectively) continue to be here?
I guess you get the point. I just wonder what others think about this issue as I try to fill in that gap for myself. I know Brother Richard sort of raised this issue in another thread, but I wanted to get more specific about the "why are we here" question.