> That Christianity and its adherents are manipulated for political ends is a sad fact of life. This doesn't change whether or not Christianity is true, it simply confirms the biblical assertion that people are potentially naive.

Not at all, Christianity has always been practiced as a social and political construct as well as a spiritual one. That's the core of it's power. Earthly institutions don't persist for thousands of years otherwise.

You really need to look at more ancient practices that are further away from modern practice and politics. Places like England and France were transformed from a collection of warring barbarian bands to nations by the cultural standardization brought by christianity. Later reforms were driven by schisms like the reformation and other things.