Is religion a scam?

Ok scam is a harsh word because it implies malicious intent. But is it more like alchemy? A bunch of people trying to achieve something that isnt possible? I am tired of being frustrated by Vedanta. I feel like that odd character who can't see those 3d eye puzzles no matter what they try/do/dont do. Even in the deepest meditation i dont "get it." I am only awareness? I dont know about that Shunya? I dont knoe about that either. Maybe frustration is the path. Is it all a trick? Do teachers really know something I don't? Or is everyone, including the Dalai Lama himself, just flailing around trying to do the mental equivalent of trying to turn aluminum into gold? Of course the pavlovian response I expect is the straw man argument of "you dont turn yourself into consciousness, you just need to realize you already are that." Same shit. Annoying. But again maybe the annoyance is the path, a path to being comfortable with perpetual annoyance? Is there a method to this madness? Science isnt any better. Everything seems like a false sense of progress. I hate it. But again maybe that is the point.