It's more a failing that monotheists are prey to from time to time. There's an endless temptation to use religion to back our own prejudices, especially with a personalized God. This is a temptation of monotheistic religion. There are some people who fall for the temptation in each generation, and others who resist it. You say religion, like art, is part of being human.
Compassion is the key.
That's the test, always. All of them say that. Think of Hillel and the Golden Rule, Jesus and his version of the Golden Rule. The Enlightenment began in Britain, not in France, as is popularly thought. That's a very British thing to say.