Back in the days of uneducated people, and before science, Man needed religion to make some sense of the world, to explain where we all came from, what we were doing here, and what happens when we die. Now, science has explained everything (okay, most things), and we no longer need religion. But we do need a sense of belonging, and that's why people join clubs, go to football, etc. We don't need God, but we do need the companionship of like-minded people.
But religion is still there, and it still has a lot of wealth and authority, although in reality, it doesn't deserve either.
But as regards child abuse, I guess that if that is your 'thing', then you'd hang out where there were plenty of kids, where you'd have a bit of respectability, and where you might come across like-minded people. Hence teachers, priests, sports coaches, tend to throw up a high percentage of these perverts.
