Do we need atheism to better ourselves ?

As Carl Sagan Once said

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."

IMO the individual thought process/critical thinking that leads to atheism is more important. 

That is what is needed today, not atheism. Because these people's belief in god is restricted to 'chalo, let's better our chances by believing in God', not to actually find spirituality or a code to living life.

So I believe atheism won't benefit Humans. I say this as an atheist.