I guess your critique should be directed at me, since I was the critic of religiously motivated movements, while Nathan tried to defend some of their virtues - so let me respond with the following question:
if you believe that religion can strenghten radical social movements because it is better predisposed to change the individual than more secular ideologies are, then what is the effect of the so-called liberation theology? Did it bring a better society to Latin America or simply paved the road for neo-liberalism? For that matter, can you cite a single instance of an actually existing just society built on religious foundations?
A persoanl note. In my 'previous life' i was closely affiliated with the catholic opposition in Poland on the mistaken assumption that their professed 'humanism' would be an antidote to the inhumanity of central planning bureaucracy. Today, many of these catholic dissidents are the stormtroopers of a reactionary movement that wants to establish a theocratic state and patriarchy, take away women's rights, institute moral censorship, and spews intolerance and bigotry. So sorry, but when I hear 'religion' I instinctively cock my virtual gun (no apologies to hanns johst).
wojtek