Desperate people do desperate things

Is it a causal relation or coincidental relation? I'd suggest that while it may look to be geographic, that is in fact only a coincidence. The actual cause is, and remains, parental belief & teaching.. in my opinion.

I subscribe to Richard Dawkins view that religion is a mind virus. The closer and more prolonged your exposure, the greater your risk of infection. Some mind viruses are quite benign such as wearing a baseball cap backwards or hula hoops. Some more dangerous like nazism. Even medial science is not immune. In the UK about 24% of mental heath problems are diagnosed as cannabis related. In the Netherlands 0% Sure there people that switch or join another religion but often this because of close proximity to a new source, Graham Greene to catholicism in the 30s at Cambridge, Mohamed Ali to black Islam in the 60s, Cat Stevens etc. Cults are the exception as they seem most successful at targeting college kids. Their intelligence helps them reject their parents religion, whilst their youth makes them vulnerable.

I'm not crazy about the argument, the strong point it brings out is that it reinforces the idea that religion is a learned trait rather than something inherent to all humanity.

The global religions argument is better suited as a point that humanity can't settle on one truth, but each god/deity is cultural and tied to that regions history.

The problem is most xians I talk to disregard any religions out of hand, they simply aren't even considered.