Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

I think it frees people up from doing what they would prefer to do and makes them miserable at the same time. So they seek an escape for their frustration, ie they become very religious and want to force others to be like themselves.

They also see it as a threat, a perfect example of this is North Korea. They are terrified that to many of their people will learn how bad they have it so they suppress information brutally.

On a micro scale if I'm stuck at church on a Sunday instead of on my boat I'm going to be miserable, so all those happy people partying down the dock I'm going to want to rain on their parade, ie go to church or else.