It seems to me that hatred of religion is a pathology almost as dangerous as simplistic notions of God.
Nearly every stream of religion (not every denomination, however) - Christianity, Islam, Buddhism etc. began as a counter to violence or the injustice of its day, and in some way practiced (and still do) their own brand of social justice or compassion for the dispossessed.
Blaming wars on Religion - or claiming that Religion is the main cause of war seems to ignore that for the last 2 millennium the tribe, ethnicity, or nation state has had a much more cohesive role to play in conflicts than religion.
Religion's role in the propagation of war, however can't be ignored either. God is invoked on every side of every conflict - but to what end? Rarely have doctrinal issues been a casus belli in most enduring conflicts, but sectarian differences often break down on religious lines.
Counterbalancing any radical or fundamentalist stream in most religions is a mystical tradition that eschews literal understandings. Sensibilities, that one could call religious seem to mitigate options for total war in the same way Koresh prevents me from gloating after I skull !@#$ my enemies.