Religion should be practiced without discrimination. Have history not thought us enough to accept and respect all races, cultures and religions. Have mankind not been through enough wars, bloodshed and sufferings.
If someone want to pray to a piece of stone and he doesn't harm anyone and he is kind, why punish him? What is even more shameful is when it is within the same faith. When violence erupt in the name of religion. When spiritual practices get dragged into human conflict.
With these type of conflicts and discrimination happening in the heart of Buddhism, how do we not expect the world to be cold, calculative, to turn away from spirituality.