re: Why does religious music, from a technical perspective, suck?

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Well, a ton of the world's great music had religious origins, so there is that.

For stuff not in that category, a lot of it is intended to be simple and can be replicated in small churches with no particular musicianship required. The point being that the music itself is just a vehicle to the activity (worship).

Modern Christian music is typically pretty awful, of course. Probably because people with more talent gravitate to music that will reach a broader audience. I'm sure the budgets and professionals available to work on those recordings also don't help.

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You pretty much nailed it. It's funny to watch the surprise on people's faces when they learn that U2's "Boy" and Smashing Pumpkins' "Gish" are christian rock albums. The difference is that the praise is told via metaphor, whereas "christian rock" is blatant praise meant to inspire in churches and arenas alike.

I personally do not like christian rock because of this very reason. Blatant, simplistic lyrics bore me.

I also think some bands do a great job of walking that line. My Morning Jacket, Ben Harper and Mumford and Sons all do a great job of being more obvious in their praise while at the same time being artistic in their wordcraft. 60's rock was dominated by this as well.