Assalamualaikum. If someone asks this ques., How do we reply exactly? "Why do we need a connection with God?" " Why do we need religion?"
Because religion gives you answers you cannot obtain any other way.
Because science alone is not enough to explain everything.
Because you instinctively end up by religion anyways whether you want it or not.
An example:
One morning you wake up and find yourself in a speeding train...but you cant remember boarding a train...you look around and see that you are not alone in the train but no one seems to care...they talk to each other about daily stuff, they laugh, some are reading a book or they stare at their phones, etc, etc.
but no one seems to worry about the train and where it is headed to...when you will arrive...how long you have been traveling...nothing about your journey....and nothing what will happen when you arrive at your destiny. They just sit around, doing their daily stuff, minding their own business...
But if you think about it...isn't that strange?
We woke up in this world...we do not know how did we get here, how long will we stay on this world, what is our destiny, what will happen with us when we finally reach our destiny?
Wouldn't those be the most important questions that pop up in your head in such a weird situation?
But if you look around you...nobody seems to care...they are in the exact same situation as you are...but somehow they ignore or push those questions away and try to occupie themself with other less important questions.