I don't think religion has made us either more or less civilised (and I have to suspend uncertainty for a minute about what "civilised" means). I suppose that religion will claim it gives us a moral code to live by, which in the end makes us more civilised, but I don't agree with that as I see lots of people living exceptionally fruitful and "moral" lives in spite of their lack of religion, and that, to me, is far more meritorious than relying on the crutch of religion to make you good. And then I think of the 20th century, the most brutal by a country mile of all centuries in human history, and I wonder how we can apply a religious overlay to all that...can't get my head round it really.