Readers of my work will find that I am often "down" on "Religion¹", so let me be clear about what I mean by "Religion":

A personal faith in [insert deity of choice] has inspired great and selfless deeds in many many indviduals. Faith, then, is a "Good Thing".

"Religion", though, is the beaurocracy of belief. Elders, priests, synods, whatever you want to call them, the groups of people who attempt to organise (what starts out as) a group of fellow-believers are the down-side of religious belief. It is the organisers who attempt to dictate to the congregation what should believed, and how that belief should be expressed.

Faith drove Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Mother Theresa. Faith puts people on the street handing out food to homeless drug addicts.

Religion puts guns in the hands of children. Religion shoots out the kneecaps of neighbours. Religion straps explosives to its members and tells them it's an honourable way to die. Religion refuses to marry a Baptist to a Catholic because "Catholics aren't proper christians". Religion refuses to marry a Catholic to a Baptist because "Baptists aren't proper christians". Religion excludes a member of its congregation because they got pregnant by the man Religion refused to let her marry. Religion tells a man he is no longer part of that religion because his wife was unfaithful. Religion sends its members to block-vote against a candidate simply because he is of a different Religion. Religion is deliberately blind to facts that run counter to its scriptures. Religion declares that such facts are actually lies, and then tells more lies to support the claim that the facts are lies.

Religion tries to use the law to force others to follow their rules or accept their opinions. Religion punishes people for leaving the fold. Religion perverts the education system to convert children too young to decide for themselves. Religion openly condems those who do not share their original faith, but can provide no reason to share their faith beyond "our version is right, yours is wrong, so there".

Religion is what you get when you let somebody else tell you what your Faith means.