Religion doesn't guarantee regard for human life.

There doesn’t seem to be much correlation between religion and respect for human life. Denmark is a very secular country and has a murder rate of less than a few a year. There are a lot of religous people in the middle east, yet, the people there kill each other like dogs.
There are many third world ountries which have a strong belief in god and family values, yet are embroled in poverty, corruption and civil war.
The 9/11 terrorists, after all, came mostly from Saudi Arabia, a country with strong faith in god and the value of family, not to mention strict moral laws.
One factor here is that instability and poverty might produce more religious longing, as well as the longing for order.
Europe might be secular for the very reason of a lower violent crime rate and an overall lower level of economic inequality. Other factors may be all the religious wars Europe has had and the fact that Europe is realitivly stable both politically and socially.
Societies which are more prosperous, stable and have a good safetly net have less need for religion than those who don’t.
Religions depend much on conflict, instability, personal neurosis and deviant behavior in order to justify there existence. If a person were to have a sense of community and fullfillment, have a responsive government, anda sense of self-discipline what do they really need religion for, exactly?