Exactly, one of the reasons why religion was invented was the lust for power and money. They wanted to control the people and what better way to do that than come up with something like a god/or gods and make them believe in it/them.
The other reason is more sympathetic: some people
need to have a "higher being" to watch over them, to help them accept death. To make themselves believe they won't just cease to exist after the die.
And there are the others who had some kind of experience, saw something they couldn't comprehend and made up an explanation. Or they really lived through something, who knows.
I'm not saying God or any other gods can't exist but I haven't seen/read/heard anything that could convince me, though I keep an open mind. Well, not about religion or the Holy Bible (or other "holy" scriptures) itself, cause those are just full of bullshit if you think about it. And that is an other thing religious (and other kinds of) leaders don't want you to do.
Oh, and to be on topic I think religion should never be in a position where they have power. It didn't do much good when they controlled things a few hundred years ago... If it wasn't for them, we could be living in a much better world. Oh, and you can also look at all the wars started in the name of God...
So, keep business/power and religion apart. Don't force it on anybody either (like it happened all the time not so long ago). But I also have to say that the business part is fucked up too, neither of them is good to have as our leaders.
