Regarding “fear of religion”....my fear is of the religious true believers who now , increasingly, have their fingers on the nuclear button...each of the three main members of the Abrahamic tradition have an aplocalyptic belief, of the final clash between the forces of good and evil, of an Armageddon (  whatever name each gives it) , of a final judgement, with the good going to heaven and the bad to hell.

The Iranian Shi’a , in particular, believe that their 12 th. Imam , the Mahdi, is hiding until the day of judgement ....and that it is the responsibility of the Iranian government to prepare the country for that day of his return....they evidently believe that Israel is an obstruction to the arrival of that day...remove Israel and the problem is resolved.