“Hey religion can be a tool. People murder each other in the name of their faiths. A religious leader has absolute control over his/her followers.”
Sounds more like these are issues with cults rather than religions (and yes, Islam is a cult, not a religion).
My wife is a bible scholar and she is on it. She has been in discussions with other Christians and pastors and one pastor didn't know the bible and yet he was a leader of the church.
Church leaders must be incorruptible which may be an impossibility, unfortunately.
Plus, leadership try to embellish on the Word. Apparently to them, simplicity isn't important or secondary. Also, one common thread in Catholicism is praying to idols — people pray to the Saints??? There is only one God, not a menagerie of leaders who have passed on and have been deemed God-like by who else but a human being or group of human beings. This is very bad in my opinion — it is one of the Ten Commandments.
Examples are Catholic Churches in Mexico with golden statues(actual gold) when the people are dirt poor. Apparently the glitz is necessary to convince folks to believe?
Then there is Joel Olsteen....
I have been fascinated with cults. In particular, the Unification Church. Both my wife and I have watched the show on Scientology and have found it fascinating.
There are so many “cults” and millions of vulnerable people who fall victim to the lies. No wonder, people stop believing and even become atheists.