Post God, post Marx

My understanding of Marx is that he did not see immediate material gain as the highest good, i.e. he may have seen the world as one of material conflict but it did not entail that one obtains one's meaning from materialism per se. Nevertheless, there is a tendency among those of the Marxist, or alternatively, contemporary agnostic/atheist disposition, to believe that given that there is no god, man does not need to have a religion, i.e. man's greatest hope is to succeed in the material world (maybe this would also entail providing materially for one's family, or giving bread to the poor..., etc.). Of course I think that this sort of philosophy is quite deficient, and know this because I've felt totally materially "full" and yet still felt a lacking in my heart; that I would replicate this fullness in others can't be the end goal, for these individuals too would still feel a lacking... With that in mind, it is man's project, given that he can't rely on extrinsic metaphysical accounts, and likewise can't merely rely on satisfying his material needs, to build a life, i.e., to determine where he will now find God (which is in a sense a symbol for one's highest value, and so can be used by a nontheist without contradiction). This actually leads to my next idea, that centrally, man is driven by what he worships. This is actually a tautological claim: to say that man is driven by that which he worships is only to say that man is driven towards something (The only sense it would not be tautological is if one countered that in fact man is not driven towards anything and is just dust in the wind. I suppose if this were the case one can perhaps say that man is driven by Nothing, although this seems a bit strained). Given man has a drive, we can consider what he is driven towards. I know many people who seem only compelled by knowledge; for them, life has little meaning but to learn new ideas until one emulates an encyclopedia. I also know many who seem to be driven by status. For this man, it is of greatest achievement to be a member of the ruling class, and to feel like he has succeeded in the eyes of the majority. Next, I know of men who are driven by creative powers. They cannot but write, but draw, etc. Are all these modalities of worship of god? Is it rather the case that we are merely biding our time? I cannot be sure. But it is something I have luckily had the chance to explore of late. I can't really end this writing with anything consequential, as like all men I am still exploring; I still haven't found god.