Conflict is one the very best catalysts for advancement, especially from a research and development standpoint. One of the very core ideas to evolution, "survival of the fittest", is a direct result of conflict.

On the subject of religion itself and if the world would be better off without it, I'm not sure that we would be. Religion has inspired such a massive amount of Arts and such that the world would be a vastly different landscape than what we know now. While there is much to deplore about religion, there is also much to rejoice in my eyes.