The Rabbi is correct. Atheists benefit from the stability to society that religious organization affords. This is isn’t a Judeo-Christian thing either - ancient Greeks and Romans who were polytheists found the same benefit to organizing their religion. In the the ancient context, individuals would belong to a specific temple, which served as a support network for the other aspects of their lives - business/commerce, art and culture, politics and warfare. I saw the Rabbi makes these comments, and he was citing the fact that human beings appear to be hardwired to seek religious affiliation - it provides basic meaning to the other aspsects of life mentioned above.
My problem with atheists is that they mostly come off as intellectually dishonest. They claim to not believe in God, but deny that this view is a belief system itself. I could care less how this unfolds for individuals on a personal level. However, it is hypocritical of the atheists who try to push organized belief systems out of the societal “marketplace” - for example, those atheists who actively work to remove the nativity scenes from public spaces fail to view their own cause as the promotion of a belief system.
But I draw the line when someone makes it personal, by suggesting that as an atheist I can't consider myself a conservative or that as an atheist I am automatically harmful to America.
There have been posters on FR who have made those assertions and yes, I do take great offense in that case.