Voltaire really hit the nail on the head with this one, if someone can control your thoughts they can easily control your logic with that they can get you to logic your way into doing pretty much anything. There's also the obedience to authority studies done by Milgram where authority subjects tell people to do things they know are wrong would cause pain or be enough to kill someone and the test subjects did the results were astounding. Milgram found that people when given the OK from authority figures and when told they are given permission or the person signed up for it or even if the person is given authority themselves basically a high number of test subjects will hurt other people and even kill them when told to.

Religion creates an authoritative structure where a person tell otheres what is right and wrong often inciting the idea that everyone has free choice, and tells people what to do as granted by the utmost authority. So of course it would stand to reason if someone can get you to believe an imaginary figure grants you the authority to do atrocities and furthermore will punish you if you don't make them happy then obviously you as in virtually more than half the people something like 65 percent of people are prepared to deliver fatal doses of electricity when delivered in 15 volt increases despite screaming and request to stop the experiment coming from the person supposedly being shocked Milgram is also famous for the six degrees of separation.

This to me is one of the strongest case a person can make against allowing religion to continue. However, in reality how can religion be stopped when there are already to many people brainwashed into believing in these false authorities?