[paxton]

Who was it that said a religion is a cult with political power?

Mind if I throw in a couple of quotes from people you might know?

During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.
-- James Madison

I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature.
-- Thomas Jefferson

Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies.
-- Thomas Jefferson

Nothing can be more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and common sense. [Philosophical Dictionary,1764]
-- Voltaire

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind and monopolize power and profit.
--Thomas Paine

If you want to get together in any exclusive situation and have people love you, fine -- but to hang all this desperate sociology on the idea of The Cloud-Guy who has The Big Book, who knows if you've been bad or good -- and CARES about any of it -- to hang it all on that, folks, is the chimpanzee part of the brain working.
--Frank Zappa

Me, well, I'm agnostic. I don't know, you don't know, and I doubt you'll get me to believe anything that doesn't stand up to the scientific method. But that's just me. (And that also explains why I don't have many friends here in the Bible belt.)