I hope Cruz believes in god. I don't want to be associated with him if he is an atheist. Imagine if the argument against atheist morality included con artist evangelists and corrupt politicians along with Stalin and Pol Pot.
I think there is enough fuel for despotism built into religion that someone could be a believer and crave political power also.

I guess I'll be the one here that disagrees. I am convinced that a great many US politicians actually believe enough of the christian story to be counted as christians. I've worked with politicians and wealthy backers of politicians and have seen them with their children and loved ones. Cynics exist in large numbers as well, so don't think that I am including everyone in my comments. But we are talking about a lot of persons in power that are so deeply convinced that "god is on his throne" and that their childrens' souls depend on a relationship with jesus that they convince their children in sobbing tears that it is true. There are no doubt people so cynical that they'd lie and perform in such a manner and fool me completely, but the willingness to willfully delude one's children for a lifetime would require a level of psychopathy that doesn't fit with all of the other facts.

This issue is a HUGE reason that I consider religion so dangerous in the modern era. I would feel much safer if our government were run by cynical machavellian-minded persons, but I am convinced that a large number of our rulers actually believe there is a god, that jesus is his son, that heaven awaits the faithful, that god has a plan and that prayer works. These aren't people who handle snakes or speak in tongues; they have their own a la carte personal understanding of religion that has kept much of the bible and turned the hardest to digest implausible components into figurative, spiritually symbolic expressions of truth and learning to god's children to know Him better.

Bottom line: These bastards aren't joking. They think that god won't let humanity be destroyed by nuclear holocaust or climate change or asteroid impact because the bible tells us so. Our circumstance would improve in many ways if everyone of them were cynical manipulators; those persons are safer in many respects. But persons who genuinely believe that 'He's got the whole world in His hands' are deeply dangerous in an age where humanity possesses the tools of our own destruction.

Our problem with religion is part charlatan and cynic. But true believers exist and their number is legion. They are my focus and concern.

I think religion began as stories to explain that which was not fully understood (lightening, earthquakes, the sun). That it has subsequently been used as a tool to gain power, status, and wealth is, to me, without question. However, I am far from convinced that the majority of adherents consciously embrace it for those reasons.

Edited to add: I also think there are adherents of religion who still use it to gain explanations for the unknown.

Recently My Fiance's distant Family member passed away. The last rites were to be performed. As was the custom, The son of the Deceased along with his Uncle went to perform the Last rites at the Crematorium while the rest of the family stayed gathered at the House.
Whilst the Family was holding a prayer meeting at home three of the family member got pocket dialled by The son of the Deceased (by mistake of course). They were all so moved, They believed it was the spirit of the Deceased trying hard to communicate through.

This family gets guidance from a maharaj (Wise man, astrologer, Guru) who read the stars and confirmed what they believed. Everyone awestruck begins to pray again and happily pays the Great Sage for his confirmation.

In my opinion, our desire to believe is so deeply enshrined that it is almost innate for us to associate the mundane with divine intervention or supernatural at the very least so much so that coincidence becomes superstition.

Then along comes a so called Guru, wiseman, Baba, Preacher, Mata; whose life was wasted in the pursuit of deciphering a text written long long ago in a time of rampant ignorance without any academic discipline. This Hero of Sorts claims to have the answer to our questions and instinctively tells us what we want to hear. He/She believes as well but that does not stop them from deceiving and stealing. In fact they justify their claim with scripture and if found lacking invent their own words just to satisfy their conscience. They believe and still deceive.

The Religious Heads of Every Organisation truly believe in their respective scripture. Still they will deceive and try to dominate, cheat and they will do it all the while justifying it with scripture.

The Pope lives in opulence even though Jesus warned against the Rich getting into Heaven.
The Imams and Mullahs Order a strict Dress code for the muslims specially women even though the quran does not request it. etc....

It makes them rich and makes them feel powerful, and they justify it with their scripture.

I met very few sincerely religious people in Japan, but religion is big business. The main religions, Shinto and Buddhism, have adapted by focusing on ritual, which most Japanese love. The Japanese are also very concerned about status and doing the right thing in the eyes of the community. The religions cash in on that big time. They're also deeply linked into politics. That's clear from the fact that the Prime Minister and cabinet regularly visit the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where the remains of numerous war criminals are kept, thereby pissing off China and the two Koreas.

Shinto shrines mainly provide rituals to do with children, weddings, and ground-breaking ceremonies for new buildings. (Big companies pay huge fees to have the sites for new skyscrapers blessed.) They'll also sell you lucky charms to avoid car accidents, pass exams, get pregnant...

Buddhism specializes in death and the afterlife. Christian churches are amateurs at this. One death, one funeral, one payment. With Buddhism, in addition to the funeral, you also have to have special remembrance services at key anniversaries of the death. Each one brings in another fee. I've been to a few of these. There's supposed to be lots of chanting and drumming, but the lazy bastards now use recordings and electric drumming machines. And every dead person has to have a new name for the afterlife, which only Buddhist priests can make up. The more you pay for your dead relative's name, the higher up they can go in heaven.

I am going to disagree. While I do think it could be possible that politicians have faked being religious to sway the masses to elect them into office, I strongly, strongly disagree that all of them are like that. To also say that Cruz does not believe in god is similar to me when Christians say that atheists actually do believe in a god, but refuse to accept it so they can keep on sinning. We can't get into his mind and we should not pretend like we can. I don't, however, think it is too far fetched to say that religion as a whole was created to keep people in order. If people believe in a higher power, then they better damn well do their best to please him or suffer the eternal consequences.

From my perspective, religion is a member of the Big 3 (the pulpit, the classroom and the media) to keep the "commoners" fearful, subjected and controlled so they will "know their place" in society and not become a serious threat against the power, authority and wealth of the ruling class.

I think that, not only is that completely erroneous, as a former LE officer, it angers me.

Law enforcement is simply the enforcement arm of the elite ruling class. I understand that you would be angered that you were just a pawn. The vast majority of laws, over a very broad spectrum, ultimately protect the lives, private property and the wealth of the elite ruling class from the commoners.

As just one example: The overwhelming majority of large corporations in the U.S. now require arbitration as the consumer's sole option for being cheated or harmed by a product or service provided by the company. Who holds seats on these arbitration panels? As it turn out, business representatives are the sole arbitrators -- with NO consumer group representatives. The arbitration process is designed to protect the corporations ... not the consumer. Additionally, this ass-backwards process has been blessed and sanctioned by Congress. Corporations have all the power ... not the commoners.

By and large, the large corporations are owned by and run by (via the Board of Directors and senior management) the capitalist elite ruling class ... not the "commoners" who represent that vast majority of the products or services consumed.

This is just one example among thousands that fully illuminates who and what most laws are ultimately legislated to protect ... the lives, private property and wealth of the elites.