[tstewart161]

You’re putting the cart before the horse through a pinhole here. Religion has existed long before organizations like, say the Catholic Church, derived their power through its adherents. You’re also making this mistake through a lens that disregards beliefs in the afterlife across nearly all cultures, regardless of whether someone can gain power from pushing it (many eastern religions).

In summary: just because some people and organizations promote religion for their purposes does not at all wipe away the various religions across time and cultures that DONT fit those criteria you mentioned.