So far no one has pointed out the real issue. It's true some evangelists take advantage of religion, just as some atheists take advantage of people's illogic (think scam artists) and neither can be blamed solely on the theistic position.
It's also true that when comparing the position of theism vs atheism, one is utterly without content while the other is specific unjustified content. Atheism is simply the place you end up, and not a mechanism of belief. The mechanism would be skepticism.
And skepticism is the real issue here. The greater tragedy is not that the church took advantage, but how easily the religious can be fooled. This is why it is important for people to understand that religious beliefs can carry no weight in the real world. Beliefs are principals of action. When we teach people that believing in propositions without evidence is not only okay, but a virtue, we end up with fools who have been trained to be taken advantage of. People use religion as a substantial motivator, and do so based on nothing but the wildest of guesses and speculation started thousands of years ago. This, as we see here, can lead to misery and death. Proper skepticism saves lives, improves our environment, and incites progress. Dogmatic religion endangers lives, fosters dereliction, and hinders advancement.