Now I'm confused - I thought you said the thread was about the origins of religion not about which are causing "trouble" - mind you most religions have had their dark periods.

I was responding to your statement that the major religions have a common root which is not the case - just two have the origins you were referring to.  Those two religions happen to be followed by cultures that in the past were the most expansive in terms of empire building and have therefore inevitably been widely spread - not based on their merits but rather because of the secular activities of the countries where those religions were followed.

If we look at Hinduism, Taoism and many of the traditional African religions it is plain that their origins are closely linked to historical secular traditions and codes of behaviour in much the same way as Christianity and Islam are.  The concept of religious beliefs on the surface appear to have been introduced to reinforce those secular rules and to ensure continued adherence to them rather than the other way round.