i think people identify with the supposed immortality of genes and memes, and this identification projects into theism.

Not off topic really - people aren't responsible for their beliefs about god having created or being better or more important; this is just a reflection of who they feel is ultimately responsible at a particular point on their journey. People's experiences, how they parse ideas and how they respond to stimuli are definitively wired, and in the wiring of certain people, actually, a very large group of people, they see some supernatural entity being responsible for calling the shots. Certainly this is nothing new. What I find somewhat interesting is that this tendency we are speaking about doesn't go away; like it seems to endlessly propagate.