Its what you choose to believe in, and I'm talking about values rather than religions.
No faith involved on my part, just boring facts. But if you think World Wars, no vaccines, no decent fertilisers, no proper health care or anaesthetics/antibiotics, systematic slavery, serfdom and so on made for better times then carry on on being deluded. Admittedly some countries are further along the progress curve than others, but more are improving as time goes on and as overall poverty decreases.
Just as each generation thinks it's the first to discover sex so they also think that the world they create around themselves is superior to what went before. In many ways that may be so, but it's not always the case as you will come to appreciate as time passes.
I never thought any particular generation discovered sex, nor do I think all new items are automatically good. And if you could read half as well as you can think, you'd have seen that I never claimed that. Pointing out that the past was in fact a bit grim and not all roses, doesn't mean I therefore think all new stuff is therefore wonderful.