When people ask, "What is the meaning of life?", what they mean to say is, "What is the story-tale that I get to be a protagonist in?" Accordingly, the world is the setting, you and I are the characters, and the "meaning" is the plot. Religious and political ideologies are inextricably weaved with this style of thinking -- otherwise, they wouldn't have any appeal. And hopefully, no serious argument needs to be made about whether the universe really ''is'' made up of these elements.