I think I'd say that religion is ethically neutral. It's people who do good deeds, and it's people to who commit atrocities. But to indicate that religious people are either likely or unlikely to commit misdeeds because of their religion, is just wrong. If they don't use religion as their excuse for doing right or wrong, they'll invent another reason. But the real reason is that they've chosen to do what they've done, by free choice (albeit under the influence of myriad factors).

-Joe-