Will 'yum remove mysql-server' remove the databases as well?

I need to update RHEL 5.8 from MySQL 5.1 to the new MySQL 5.5. I have installed the REMI rpm, but I get a long list of package conflicts when trying to upgrade MySQL that way.

I think I need to remove MySQL completely, and then do a fresh install of the new version.

If I run

yum remove mysql-server

Will that remove my databases and the /etc/my.cnf configuration file? I am hoping it won't.

Thanks

No. The database files are not under control of the package. The directory is, but the directory won't be removed if there is anything in it.

$ rpm -qlv mysql-server
...
drwxr-xr-x    2 mysql   mysql                       0 Mar 29 00:39 /var/lib/mysql