Religion, Opium for the people ?

It seems that we just can not learn from history (or maybe we do ...only the part of history that suits our needs ?)
Reading the news from all over the world, I get the impression we are back to the middle ages, the clash of the religions ?  Shall we go back to the crusades ?  Or shall we declare Holy war ?  What is happening to the enlightenment of humanity .... If you look closely at whatever religion, they do not preach violence, or hate nor do they preach about intolerance !  And still, we seem to end up in some kind of religious wars again ?   Why ??
I have to admit that Karl Marx's statement that "Religion is the opium of the people"  gets a whole new meaning, who are we fooling today ?  Looking back in history,some of the biggest crimes against humanity were always committed in the name of .... ?  I let you complete your history lessons.
My call today to humanity is : "When you believe in whatever God, Allah, .... try to read carefully about the true meaning of your religion .... it is a message of love and not about hate !  Do not trust those who are trying to use your religion for other purposes, remember Karl Marx's !
I hope I did not offend anyone, no such intention was there.  I tried just to make sure that we all can enjoy 2011 ;-)