Tiles,
I never said I was against science. Science is good, and can be used for good purposes. However science can also be used for bad purposes. A scientist could use his knowledge to make horrible weapons, to kill people. Does this mean science is bad, or that the scientist is bad?

Religion is the same. Most religions have a very similar message as far as our life on earth is concerned. Most religions I've read about agree that there is a soul which lives beyond our life, and that if we believe and do good deeds, our souls will experience a better afterlife than those of us who choose to deny this and do bad deeds.

Religious people generally are those who look at the world and see it as a thing of beauty, and have a feeling that there is a very powerful force which must have created all this. When they read or hear about God, they connect this feeling with what they have read, and they believe in it.

Yes, there are bad people out there who claim to believe in God, and they do all sorts of bad things in order to force other people to accept their religion. This is a sad fact, and it is not the intent of most religions, but people do it anyway. Can you blame the religion for the actions of some people who clearly ignore it's teachings?

Let's assume you're right about Iran, that it is a place where people are forced into a particular religion. Are the actions of these people their own responsibility, or is it the religion's fault?

The Quran clearly states:
"There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower." (2:256)

No compulsion means no one should be forced to believe in anything. We can't be forced to believe in something, believing is a matter of the mind, not the body. Forcing someone would only make them hate that religion more, even if they choose to lie and say they believe.

Sadly, many religious authorities have not paid heed to this command. But as I mentioned before, it is not only religious authorities who do bad things to people. Hitler did bad things in the name of National Socialism, Stalin did bad things in the name of Communism, early Americans did bad things to the natives in the name of 'Manifest Destiny', the list goes on and on. It's a problem of humans getting greedy, not of religion.