Religion is a palliative care much like modern day medicine. Its purpose is to focus on the effects and not the cause. Sad for it never cures a thing... nor does it wish to. In your thesis the core subject was the status of being poor correlated to degree of religious followers.

Religion never solve poverty. Never. It only sets a salve on the problems of distress and its derivative, depression. Religion is a false friend, like a smiling bartender who keeps serving your yearning to forget the trial of the day. Or lifetime as religion would hope for. Sad reminder of what it means to be on the receiving end of a pat on the back as you, the impoverished soul goes home to reality thinking the rest in in God's hand. Or worse, pocketbook.

Thanks for writing. It keeps me on my toes. And there is what religion will never do. It puts you to sleep around the fact your solution does not arrive at church. It is within... keeping on your toes as you march into the good night. Not sullen and destressed about your plight but determined to do something about it. It being the cause. Not the effect.

Eric