Marx said the right thing for the wrong reason when he described religion as “the opium of the people/masses”. I definitely believe that religion can be effectively misused to pacify people who are suffering injustice. I would imagine in all major religions there are “clergy” (I hate both the word and the concept it represents) who tell people “it’s OK if you’re oppressed and poor while bad people literally get away with murder, everything will be righted in the next life”. Or, even worse, they use religion to whip people up into a frenzy and justify religious wars and genocide. All while amassing wealth and influence for themselves.
However, as a practicing, fairly conservative Muslim, I know first-hand there are many religious scholars who live very modest, even impoverished lives while being a force for good and fighting against all forms of injustice. In fact, I would say the majority of dedicated scholars are not wealthy and not OK with injustice.
The problem isn’t organized religion, it’s that we live in a time, perhaps unprecedented in history, when the world is generally rotten. The existence of charlatans and hypocrites is a reflection of that reality, and the ones who ally themselves with dictators and corrupt politicians are the loudest and most visible.
Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.