Religions are definitely designed to get people to behave, but that covers a very broad range of motives. Often it is to get folk to contribute money to help the preacher live better. Sometimes it is to get folk to work in a society or clan. Often it is to establish a communion.
Maybe the idea is to keep people in the religion so
it gets propagated. I have sometimes wondered if religions are really about themselves rather than their adherents or their deities. On the other hand, maybe they are chiefly another scheme whereby the few get to dictate to the many. (ie "politics by other means")
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