Indeed, and your comment really gets to the heart of something I didn't say directly. I think religion is dangerous precisely because it boils down to just a bunch of ideas people teach to other people, generally to people who were born into the religion and almost automatically believe the ideas they're taught.

Depending on what religion you're born into, you get taught very different ideas. It takes a lot of strength to reject religious ideas, even though they aren't based on anything objectively or observably real.

Religion is one of the last areas of our society where critical thinking isn't just discouraged but often is not permitted. (In the Catholic Church, just for example, disagreeing with dogma and doctrine has a name — heresy— and they used to kill people for it.

Obviously, heretics don't get the death penalty today, but still ... disagreeing with doctrine and dogma is seen within the Church as very serious indeed.

I think we'll have a far healthier society (and more healthy, happy children) when all of our institutions allow free, critical thinking — and when religion ideas are no longer socially off limits to criticism, just like any other human ideas.