I think those that lack empathy and compassion recognise in themselves they have this flaw. They do want to fit in and be like everyone else so they search for answers about themselves. Which brings us to the question; "What organisations profess to be experts in empathy?' The answer, of course, is organised religion. Can't blame them as numbers suggest it is true what religions claim to represent.

So for me it's no surprise religions are full of narcs. They are intelligent logically, just not emotionally, so they rote learn their doctrine, become expert in it, and start climbing this new social structure they find themselves in, stepping on others to improve their social status as narcs do. Me me me, it's all about them.
Those with empathy don't fully fall for it and we call them religious moderates.

I agree with your thesis. Whatever benefit religion conferred in the past, in this age, it is an obstruction to BOTH moral and intellectual development. And not just an obstruction, but a dumbing down of people's morality and their awareness. HOW religious practice damages the brain is the question. The Trump cult demonstrates a worst case giving context to all the other ugly behavior in service to religion.

Short form: narcissists wield power over those who lack self-assurance.

You can lead a theist to reason, but you can't make him/her think.

It seems to me that the sole purpose of religion to create a division within the individual to make him or her into an obsequious servant to some ‘higher good’ that resides in the realm of the imagination.

I could never understand why people kneel down to offer prayers up to a God of whom it has been said: “God is omnipresent”.

Religion is probably one of the earliest and lowest forms of carrot and stick training. The carrot being a promised state of eternal bliss in an imaginary place called heaven and the stick being eternal suffering in an imaginary place called hell. It all stinks of control of the mind of man with the base exhortation to become an obedient sacrificial animal with the promise of an imaginary reward if you do and an imaginary punishment if you do not follow commandments.

Well put. More please.

I always enjoy your take on religion!

Religion’s ever present ability to lead humans in the wrong way of thinking is the scourge of humanity

The worst scam ever perpetrated on humanity, by itself, has been the lie of religion.
The reasons are endless, but the outcome is always the same.
Self-aggrandizement and favor.
It's led the way for nearly every other negative human trait.
ALL religion is evil.
There's no reasonable excuse to keep it around.

It seems that narcissm and the worship of self is at the center of this bullshit.
I don't think Jesus is actually running the show in American Evangelism anyway....Leviticus and Bishop Cyril seem to be the drivers