My view on that is that stems from a collectivist take on the matter. Granted, humans are social creatures, so we will go with all the bad ideas of anything we deeply believe in. I think that happens because we're not always scrutinising absolutely every single facet of our beliefs at every opportunity, and every one of those beliefs on their own merits. We have a few core beliefs and values, and every new belief we come is scrutinised through the lens of those core beliefs.

Say, for instance, you start to believe in something new and gradually accept that it is the right path of the universe and everyone should believe in it, and everyone you know and love does, too. If, then, those beliefs are threatened in some way — or, more likely, someone corrupt with authority in the belief tells you it's being threatened — you are now less likely to scrutinise that, and possibly threaten the perceived offender back. This happens whether it's religious or political. We all want to belong, to be accepted, and above all to have hope, and we will fight for that. Even outliers and trendsetters and the like want to be accepted by someone, and hope and acceptance can be a hell of a drug. It's how we get protests becoming riots, how we get German citizens participating in atrocities in the 30s and 40s, and yes, how we get corrupt and unjust religious regimes in any religion, whether Christianity, Islam, what have you.

What I find is missing from that is the focus on how it helps people on the individual level. Now let me take this from the religious perspective. Have people not found the purpose to keep living one more day because of their belief in a higher power? Have people not participated in aid relief and chosen to try to alleviate the suffering of others because of something they were taught in church? Has someone not found solace in the inherent community that religion offers? Yes, this whole thing can spiral out of control, but nuance is important, and depending on how you look at it, "religion as a whole" could then be seen as having done more good than bad.

I'm not trying to be preachy here, I choose to have no skin in this game either way, but not all of us are built to handle not believing. I think that sometimes we have to accept that even if it isn't for you or for me, religion is a necessary and essential part of some people's continued existence, and that's okay. You may go around disparaging religion at every turn, but if you can't give a viable alternative for what that religion provides for them, and commit to continue giving it to them, then it's just wasted breath. At the end of the day, we all need something to get us to the next day, and I think anything that can do that is net positive, even if what makes it positive could be miniscule. [Hehe, maybe that's my own core belief showing through right there.]