"But only somebody with a bad case of tunnel vision will see only the conservative side of religion."

Ron I can't recall seeing arguments against the conservative side of religion on this thread (they may be there, but I've not kept up with this thread). I think the point is, that as hopefully an evolved society, we aught not need to call upon the supposed 'word' of any supernatural agency, in order to defend an ethical standpoint which plays out in this material world right here, among our fellow human beings.

I'd agree with you that there is an historical precedent for very good compassionate and humanitarian work being done by the Christian faithful in particular in the West, but that precedent IMO is equally balanced by the evil done in the name of religion.

When we stop invoking the word of any supposed God to support our actions and start relying on our own reasoning and moral compass, we cease abdicating personal responsibility for our choices and accept personal responsibility for both our reasoning behind those actions, and their consequences - be they helpful or harmful to our fellow man.