I totally disagree for reasons you have already stated that the majority of these opinions or published papers are created with both feet in the religious side of the argument. I have read Richard Dawkins and he forms the view with very good argument that religion is a form of Delusion. You may wish to read his book the “God Delusion”.
Now my reasoning is that any person who believes that they can go and sit in a confessional box and divulge their sins to a priest and then be absolved of those sins and be given the right to enter heaven as a clean skin is seriously deluded and a danger to the greater part of society. All christians believe they can on their deathbed be absolved of their sins and go to some delusional afterlife as a clean spirit. This is dangerous because it absolves them of any moral obligation to act in a humane and compassionate way.
Religion is a sanctuary for those who are terrified of death and they have created this myth that subjugates them to a system of control to the point they are willing to pay for this belief financially and a devotion that transcends all logical thought and ignores science. So I will have no compunction about calling religious people delusional.
I will leave you with another definition of delusion from the Oxford dictionary. Like opinions we can cherry pick quotes and definitions all you like but at the end of the day they can not prove their God exists.
delusional
/dɪˈluːʒ(ə)n(ə)l/
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adjective
characterized by or holding idiosyncratic beliefs or impressions that are contradicted by reality or rational argument, typically as a symptom of mental disorder. “hospitalization for schizophrenia and delusional paranoia”
based on or having faulty judgement; mistaken.
“their delusional belief in the project’s merits never wavers”
