You say beliefs influence man's thinking. I think you are right there. Beliefs do indeed man's thinking, as about everything else influences man thinking btw. That is a thing not to be forgotten. When people see a loving couple walking down the street, they may feel lonely when they are alone at that moment, thinking they need something like that as well. Having forgotten to do the groceries and having no breakfast as a consequence makes you think about measures to prevent that.
Every little thing influences man's thinking.
In a good way or a bad way. Or something in between. Does that make the things that influence the thinking process in a bad way, bad as well?
Or maybe something in the thinking process of man is wrong? And I think that is the case. Man is subjected to things as power, lust, greed. And everybody knows that it is sometimes very hard to deal with those things.
Most people I think can withstand those things more or less. Some others like Hitler couldn't. And some in the Brahmin kaste can't do it either.
Do we really have to blaim the religion for that? Maybe it is just the weaknesses in man that are to be blaimed.
To your other question: Yes I believe in reincarnation. A seperate mind and body. Both needing the other one to survive in this world, but with the mind that is the evolving part when the body dies. To eventually learn all that there is to learn.