[dr2005]

I'd say religion wasn't designed with the intention of controlling people - at its most basic level, religion is just a codifying of a particular set of ideas to do with the supernatural which is then shared by a particular group of people. Where I think the problem arose is that religion and politics became intertwined, and have remained pretty much thus ever since (most obvious example probably being the Vatican, which is its own state). Once that happened, an element of controlling people probably did enter the equation unfortunately. At its heart, though, religion to my mind isn't about control and nor should it be. It should be about guidance and helping a person make the best use of their life that they can.