There should be nothing "hurtful" about religion. The definition of religion has been twisted and perverted by man to mean something it truly does not mean. Instead of trying to understand "mans" views we should look up and define Gods views. Isn't that why we have the bible in the first place? According to the bible all scripture is given for instruction and reproof.
The bible tells us that there will be a falling away in 2 Thes 2:3. For the most part the "church" has been falling away from the truth for a long, long time. There are "true" churches out there but there's not many and they're not big. At least from my experience this is true.