Heyyo,
It's more than just religion, it's also stuff like the thirst for power. Ya know? like, how most americans believe they're better than others so they go into other countries and say "do things our way", and how germany used to think they were the 'super power' of the world and then tried to dominate the world? ya know, stuf like that. Religion is like Hangfire said, not actually geared towards religion, but the followers, the fanatics.
It's just like sports. You go into a bar that praises the BC Lions, and you're an Edmonton Eskimo fan, and you cheer for Edmonton? there's a good chance you're gonna get your arse kicked.