Religion: A tool of the powerful?

In some areas around the world, religion was used as a way for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. For example, in India, the rich used hinduism, to separate themselves from the poor. Over time they developed a caste system. A caste system is a social grouping system where the rich are on the very top of the system while the poorer or less important you are the lower you stand. Then there are the untouchables. These people were unfortunately born into a group which is so unimportant and so, well, "untouchable" that they don't even have a cast. This system developed over a long period of time. During the birth of this social structure people were fairly divided already. Everyone wanted to be rich but in the end only the rich stayed rich. People on the bottom just struggled. Soon the rich had enough power to convince people that staying in there place was the right thing to do. They used hinduism as an argument, and said that if you were the best person you could possibly be at your cast level then when you died, you would be reincarnated as someone rich or important.