this thread be blowin' up yo Personally, I am not sure it is possible to make quantitative statements such as "the good that religion has brought into the world outweighs its negatives," or vice versa. It would require an extremely expansive and knowledgeable worldview, as well as an analytically brilliant mind. I also am not sure if there is a point to such a discussion. (But I would love to hear what inspired this question and line of thinking - when I say I don't know if there is a point, I mean, what does this discussion merit? ) Religion can be good; religion can be bad. It is neither, but both.
In modern contexts it's all about the person though, and less about their religion. There are a ton of Christians who genuinely serve the needy, the sick, the less fortunate in general, and do so because of religious motivation. There are atheists who do the same, because it's just the right thing to do. Conversely, you have plenty of devouts of every faith abusing their spouses, children, employees, out of religious motivation/justification. It's really about the people though. Religion being used as justification after the fact.Religion can be good; religion can be bad.