I'm sorry, but I just don't buy the idea of vanity and greed as being an inherent part of religion. It may well be an almost-inherent component of leadership. Since most religions have leaders, that component of religion may be beset by vanity and greed - but they're in the leaders, not in the faith itself. In its essence, faith is a matter of seeking understanding of the mysteries we encounter. Some religious groups attempt to come up with easy answers and impose those answers on followers - but I don't see that as true faith. That's just another form of escapism - running away from the questions of life and trying to silence the questions and questioners with packaged answers.

Along that line, let me quote Little Hawk and then twist and distort his words to my own purposes:

All religions contain individuals who are afraid, but the really serious troubles arise when the leadership of the religion in question is afraid. This goes for political entities too.

I suppose it's true that sometimes there are religious and political leaders who are fearful. I think that more often, the problem is with leaders who prey upon the fears of their followers.
No?

-Joe Offer-