As a religious person and scholar who has studied many religions on an esoteric level I can honestly say Capitalist values are the OPPOSITE of most religious values, including Christian values.

Jesus condemned wealth seeking, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle before a rich man can enter into heaven"

and he often told people to give up their wealth so they could enter heaven.

Heaven of course is a metaphor for a "peaceful and loving state of mind" and Hell, of course, is depression or angst/anger

It's a shame really that "religion" has become such an institution and the lessons of these metaphorical stories can't be seen for their true value.

I say that consumerism has turned people away from eachother and from their true selves. If you believe in self actualization as described in psychology and philosophy you can see that a religious path is actually just a path towards self actualization. If people are constantly distracted and placated by entertainment and propaganda they are drawn away from themselves and into their egos. People who function within their egos and grow their egos are selfish and driven towards material gain (the opposite goal of religion) as opposed to spiritual gain (fostering compassion and loving kindness within the soul). When people strive for material gain they recieve temporary happiness that often ends in dissatisfaction afterwards. Only by pursuing spiritual wealth (which is basically practising kindness and compassion) will you be able to achieve lasting happiness.

When people are unhappy and they don't have spirituality they will only turn to spending money on things they can consume and then consume to try to feel their growing dissatisfaction. Through spirituality you can learn to subdue those feelings of depression and hunger by meditating, praying, ritual, whatever you want really as long as it makes sense to you. If people don't do this anymore (which they don't really in Western society) they will feed the Capitalist system. Religion teaches you to be satisfied and thankful for what you have. Capitalism teaches you to never be satisfied and always want more, more more.

In the end, erasing religion is essential to the Capitalist goals. They are on opposite sides of the spectrum despite what lip-service Republicans want you to believe. Those people are in no way spiritual. Spiritual man does not seek to hold power over other men. All men are equal and all religions are equal and one because there is only one world- just many ways of looking at it.