God Hates _____

So. Religion. It's quite a polarizing topic. I'm not talking about the "Does God exist" debate, but the "Why do we need religion" debate. This is a fairly neutral subject for me for the following reasons:
Pros
-It brings people of the same faith together.
-It can provide hope for people in desperate situations, and thereby give them the resolve to go on.
-Religious organizations give away billions of dollars worth in charitable donations, such as food banks, homeless shelters, and volunteer time. 34% of US volunteers have a religious affiliation.
-Makes people feel as if life has meaning.
-Almost all religions preach tolerance and love.

Cons
-Religions with conflicting beliefs are often at odds.
-It is very difficult to seperate religion from politics and government.
-There is a lot of bias against followers of many religions because of misconceptions and extremists.
-Religions often impede the spread of new ideas.

For me, it seems as if the pros work best on a small scale, with the cons representing a whole. Religion can be extremely helpful for many individuals, but when applied  to a country, the extremists begin to crop up. Every religion has those. Here are some examples:

-Christianity-Westboro Baptist Church (though they don't cause any physical harm), the KKK
-Islam-Al-Quaeda
-Judaism-The Kahane Movement
-Hinduism-Suicide bombers

Of course there are more religions, but those are the most well-known cases of religious extremists to people in the US. The problem is, they cause everyone of that religion to be stigmatized. Why do many Americans hate Muslims? A tiny percentage of them are terrorists. It's easy to forget that Muslims in the Middle East often suffer just as much, if not more. And I can't think of a single Christian who would condone the actions of the WBC. Or the KKK, for that matter.

Religion has its ups and downs. The good can't be undermined just as the bad can't be overlooked. I have a feeling, though, that this discussion will never end.