Golly, this is a BIG subject! I am firmly convinced all human discrimination is based upon wealth; and instances of prejudice due to age, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation or any other aspect of the human condition are manifestations of that underlying economic bias.
In regard to religion, most but not all religions sought to embrace everyone in an
agape kind of way - at least for a time. But eventually, corruption took hold due to human weakness; namely, greed. Mendacity thus came to the fore and stayed there.
Power elites - comprised of those very few persons who (through guile and violence) amass a great deal of wealth - seek to maintain the
status quo ante because it works to their benefit; and they regularly, albeit indirectly, invoke what they claim to be "religion" in order to help maintain their privileged status. In short, religions are misused by power elites for achievement of immoral and unethical goals.
The word "war" springs to mind, an unfathomable horror the chief purpose of which is to make billions in profit for owners of corporations. Sadly, too many leaders of organized religions go along with the wealthy in furthering wrongful agendas. A few such leaders might speak out against the perils of greed, but they take no action against the greedy. Money does indeed talk and it's proven its ability to buy inaction; and more's the pity, because excommunication could speak with a very loud voice too. So much for religion as it's conducted today.
As it happens, I hate all forms of wrongful -
i.e., immoral and/or unethical - discrimination. What to do? I'm puny in comparison to power elites, who create and foster divide-and-conquer prejudices in order to deflect blame for societal inequities. I've voted, signed petitions, asked others to sign petitions, spoken out at public meetings, made signs, marched in protest, been pepper-fogged and teargassed - but nothing's changed, at least not yet. Now it's somebody else's turn to beat the bushes for a solution.
=^..^=