Many governments fear religion, unless that government is theocratic in principle, for governments fear all those things and beliefs that they are unable to control or successfully manipulate, and religion, is one of those beliefs that can readily supersede one's loyalty to one's nation, if a choice must be made. So too, much of mankind fears religion, for the sovereignty of the individual must often be surrendered to that religion; or the danger of being on the wrong end of whatever is the prevailing religion of that community or country, as well as the punishment for failing to adhere to a given religion, which may cost a given individual their livelihood, their opportunity, their education, their housing, and even their life.
All of these various things are reasons to be wary of religion, but no matter the government, whether it be communistic or an anathema to organized religion of any type, or the punishments meted out to those that have unorthodox religious beliefs, people have a natural affinity to seek that which is the truth beyond all truths, and innately recognize that religion often is the instrument that helps to bring forth enlightenment, as well as the recognition that those of similar faiths are able to help one another, as if they are family.
While estimates of how many religious faiths there are in this world, is probably in the tens of thousands, there are in actuality, not a terrible amount of religious faiths of any real popularity and prevalence, of which, most people are well aware of those religions. So too, while the color of our skin is something that we born with; religious faith, is something that people should they be inclined, can change their preference or desire for as they best see fit, or convert to, as necessary, even at the point of a sword.
While there are many religious faiths that have all sorts of tenets, restrictions, codes, and instructions, all of this, has a tendency to divide and subdivide people one from another; especially when those of that faith insist that their belief is the only correct belief, or that their prophet is the only true prophet, or that their God is the only God, and all others are blasphemers or apostates to the faith. All of this really misses the forest for the trees, for the whole point of religion and religious faith is not to have mankind go at each other's throats, as blood-thirsty savages, insisting that their God must be avenged, but rather that religious faith at its core, is all about taking disparate people and circumstances, throughout the world, and having a coming together of all people, so that together there is an acknowledgment, as much as it is possible, that each of us as a human being, has the exact, same Creator, and therefore we are all brothers and sisters, of one extended family.
The purpose of any good religion is for that religion to be inclusive, so as to bind together people, and especially people, that previously did not bind together at all; so that as fellow believers, each will see the other as having worth and value, because each of us is of the same created worth and of the same created value. A true religion will not leave even one person behind, for a house divided, cannot stand; so that, we are either all sons or daughters of the one true God, or we are truly lost and do not know who we really are.