Religion - the root of all evil?

I want to make it clear from the very start that I believe in God. And it is not necessarily the principle of religion that I have an issue with, but how easily it is used by certain people to gain influence, power and become rich. So, I apologise if maybe the title is a bit misleading.

History is full of examples - as far back as the Ancient Greeks (and probably even further back).

The Ancient Greeks can be said to be a religious community. They had numerous Gods and took the business of worship very seriously. The city of Athens was a leading city, and is said to be the first democracy in the world. The people used to gather on a hill to vote on all matters. There were no representatives as such - everyone had the right to speak and to vote. However, there was also belief that if the Gods did not like the outcome of a vote, they would show their displeasure in the form of a thunderstorm. In time, this belief was transformed into just rain instead of a thunderstorm. And eventually, someone came up with the idea that just by claiming to have felt a drop of rain, you could overturn a decision you did not agree with.

This is just one example, from even before the days of monotheism. Many people who believe in God never even think about what they are told in the name of religion. Many even think it is a sin to question such things. They rely on the words of others who they feel to be somehow more knowledgable or even closer to God than themselves (priests, rabbis, imams, or even politicians who have the ability of convincing (conning) people). I guess this is what you would call blind faith - or as close to it as you can get.

That makes it very easy for unscrupulous politicians and self-styled preachers to lead people in a direction which is in the interests of these politicians and preachers rather than that which is the right path.

A good example is religious sects. When Christianity was founded, there was only Christianity. Then it became the Catholics, the Orthodox church, the Protestants, etc.. Why? One argument may be that the Pope abused his powers (numerous examples of this throughout history), while another may be that some people saw a good way to gain power and influence and decided to set up their own churches! (Think back to the 1980s when self-styled preachers would set themselves up with TV shows and encourage people to send donations. Some got extremely rich!)

It is the same with Islam. There were just Muslims in the days of the Prophet Mohammed. But after him they divided into Sunnis, Shi'ites, etc.. And just as in the Middle Ages the Roman Catholics and Protestants would murder each other (despite the commandment clearly stating 'thou shalt not kill'), in more modern times Sunnis and Shi'ites have been murdering each other, because they see the others as 'infidels'. ISIS is a Sunni organisation, and while they have also targeted the Christian west with their bombings, their primary aim is to establish a Sunni state and rid the world of all non-Sunni Muslims.

Of course, wars are a good thing - for the weapons industry! After all, if you had no fighting and killing, who would you sell your weapons to? And the easiest thing in the world is to use religion - the blind faith of people - to con people into doing wrong, while believing they are doing right.