Religion, the wrong kind of religion, is at the root of many of the problems in our world today. It has always been true that the wrong kind of religion does more harm than good. Even Jesus warned us about this. In fact, Jesus gave us three marks of the wrong kind of religion in Mark 12:38-40.
First, it is wrong for people to use the church to promote themselves. It was and still is true that many people join churches and accept offices in them for what it will do for them. They use the church to exalt themselves rather than God. And that is always wrong. The person who enters the church for the respect which will be given him or her has begun in the wrong way and cannot, unless he or she changes, be in any sense the servant of Christ and his fellow man.
Second, it is wrong for people to use religion to take advantage of others. In religious matters it is a sad fact that people have been and still are imposed upon by religious charlatans. People still traffic in religion for their own advantage.
Third, it is wrong for our religion to be pretense and show. People have long used religion to cover up their true nature and their true intentions. Thus, they become hypocrites.
Jesus and the Bible condemned self-exaltation, religious exploitation, and spiritual ostentation. The right kind of religion is the kind that accepts and follows Jesus Christ with sincerity and humility.