Please correct me where I am wrong

[KevinM1]

Critical thinking is a skill like any other. If you practice it, and care about applying it well, you will improve.

I'd say religion relies heavily on dissuading critical thinking, and using convincing sounding but fallacious arguments. The argument from ignorance is its bread and butter.

I'd go even further and say that organized religion is designed to whittle away at one's critical thinking skills in order to create an easily led and exploitable source of labor and defense for those higher up the chain.  Remember - organized religion was government for a time.

When the answer to every question is to go back to the holy tome and read it for realsies this time, that says to me that religion isn't interested in providing any real guidance, just obedience.