Originally Posted by thesquealer

you are right on track. People simply don't understand the purpose and motives of religion and that our brains are wired for religion. Monotheistic religions evolved along with the transition to sedentary lifestyles, our gathering into larger and larger groups and large cities and provide the moral law and basic codes of conduct, cleanliness, handling of bodies, of food and so on that allowed people to live together in larger and larger societies. It is the factor which allowed us to live in ever increasingly large cooperative cities.

And with respect to crime and religion, you are again exactly correct. People are far less likely to act out, when they are bound to religion/religious beliefs and the idea that they will be judged in the end or are being watched all the time or are violating a strong code that the entire group holds dear. Many many many cultures throughout time have put a god and a temple at the center of shared resources with no other law (irrigation to farms from a shared and limited water source for example) and people generally do not take advantage, hence the institution of religion as an effective management tool over law and punishment.

Groups that are not bound by religious beliefs live an infinitely shorter life than those which are. This is very well studied and particularly evident in cults which typically have a shorter lifespan than other organized communities or groups or larger societies.