Some thoughts from an earlier conversation:

What I have seen over the years is that organized religions, by definition, are an "us vs. them" situation. So far, so good. Where that deteriorates into trouble is that the "us" is always better than the "them". From there, seeds of hate and mistrust are sown. Once those seeds are sown, they grow rapidly. By the time it has gotten to this point, where is the benefit of the organized religion? A current example is the "all muslims are evil and must be banned" movements by our devout, church going politicians.