Churches have often given sanctuary to the persecuted.
LOL
Ah, yes, the go-to response for people who don't have a rebuttal to a statement, but refuse to admit they're wrong.
If you've been paying attention to my posts earlier in the thread, I
do accept that religion has helped some people.
But there were also cases when people were being persecuted when they didn't really do anything to help out of fear of being rejected by the people. For instance, the Vatican signed an agreement with Hitler early in WWII. Or, alternatively, the churches were the ones doing the persecuting themselves.
As for a good example of religion doing something positive, consider the Quakers' involvement in the abolitionist movement in America.