Do you see any benefits to religious faith?

[MTL]

Mudhammam:

Most of us are familiar with the ills of faith, whether one speaks of the narrow-mindedness it often creates, or its pseudo-solutions to difficult problems, the discouragement of curiosity it entails when overlapping with matters of speculation (metaphysics, ethics, physical anomalies, etc.); the zeal, sometimes dogmatical and violent, that pervade the holy texts and which people inevitably interpret in accordance with their temperament; the bloody theological wars that are waged, and so on.  Many of us have felt the harm of indoctrination and religious intolerance at one point or another in our personal lives, and I cannot conceive that anybody, believer or infidel, could dispute that many faiths bring more harm than good into the world -- a problem that strikes at the center of this notion of religious faith.  Not to set aside the harm, but are there any benefits to religious faith that are unique to its exercise, and do any of them offset the costs in such a way as to justify faith even to the extent of accepting certain of its propositions as "noble lies," that is, claims that are probably false but beneficial to society?  I do not have in mind mere charity or the promulgation of a particular ethic, or a magnificent work of art, for these are wholly distinct from the mythologies that comprise my conception of religious faith (wherein one confuses these mythologies with factual knowledge).  I rather mean possible benefits such as the optimism it bestows upon one's view of the world, that all injustices will at some time be made right, that death is the not permanent annihilation of everything that has ever been good or lovable about life, that each individual has an integral role which they are under obligation to fulfill given the circumstances in which they have been placed, and that the endless humiliations that some wretched souls have been subjected to carry some sort of merit.  These are ideas that don't much register on my worldview, or if they do it is in a context that largely changes their import, but I can certainly conceive of scenarios in which it might be nice to believe that they did.  Is there any form of genuine piety that is rational given the existential situation in which human beings find themselves, or is there an underlying irrationality to our existence that at least makes religious faith justifiable?   It seems that any analysis must weigh the pros against the cons.  I'm inclined to think that -- and it appears that recorded history confirms this at the turn of every century -- the costs outweigh the benefits, and moreover, that the redemption promised to the faithful is in some sense based on an erroneous idea that our beliefs about otherwordly events determines the facticity of said events.  Suppose the benefits I suggested are all true; or even that the ideas from which the benefits are derived contain something of the truth; can my doubts about them change that?  If I die and find out that I was wrong about some metaphysical claim, is it reasonable to suspect that my life or future life is liable to suffer because of such doubt, even if at the moment I feel more sincere and generally more content given my suspension of belief?  

The follow-up question is this: Is it better to live as if the fundamental concepts of religion are true or false, irrespective of whether they actually are true or false?

Thoughts?

First of all, I see a need that greater distinction be made between "faith" vs "religion".

It is possible to have Faith, without Religion.

To me, put simply, Faith is simply the raw, unrefined belief in God.
"Faith" does not necessarily need to have a dogma to it;
"Faith" does not necessarily require that God have parameters.

For example, someone might have great Faith that God exists,
...but not necessarily believe that "God is good".

They might believe wholeheartedly that there IS, in fact, a God out there...
but be equally prepared to accept that that God might very well be cruel, evil, or indifferent.

So, in its raw form, I don't really have a problem with "Faith", in and of itself,
as long as the holder of that Faith is completely open-minded about what God may or may not be like.

To my mind, it is only when a person chooses to limit and define their Faith according to a given dogma,
that it becomes a Religion.

(And to my mind, it is also at that point that it completely ceases to be about Truth,
and it therefore becomes complete balderdash for the practitioner of that religion to claim that they are "serving God" by adhering to a Religious dogma;

and this is because, ironically,
...while most major religions equate God with Truth...
isn't it absurd to claim that one is serving "the Truth"
if one is prepared to accept only one unproven dogma, out of hundreds, as the only valid possibility, based on no factual evidence whatsoever, and shut out every other possibility that might exist, about God,
if it is unaligned with the dogma one has chosen?

Ironically, in this respect, Science, with all its open-mindedness and disciplined pursuit of the Truth,
actually serves God, assuming there is actually a God out there to be served,
far better than Religion ever could.

It seems obvious to me that people choose a Religion either because:
- the tenets of that particular religion appeal to that individual
- or because they are simply raised under the thumb of that Religion and simply are not strong enough to break free from it
- or they choose to remain part of it for reasons other than serving God....like, perhaps, pleasing their parents, or avoiding social persecution for heresy or non-conformity.

But the reasons for adhering to a Religion are always about ANYTHING BUT serving God;
they are usually entirely selfish, in one form or another.

And therefore, it seems fairly obvious to me that, given this logic,
one cannot serve BOTH a Religion,
AND serve God...aka "The Truth"....at the same time.

To my mind, in order to serve God with any degree of integrity,
one must be prepared to completely jettison any and all religions and dogmas.

If you really want to serve God, you must be prepared to accept Him in whatever form He comes.
Even if it is a form that you personally dislike or are disappointed by).

So, having clarified that, to answer the main question of this OP:

YES, in my mind, there are absolutely good things about religion.

- It unifies a people like few other things....look at how Islam has flourished in the world.

-It gives people a last-ditch hope that cannot be effaced...one I now do not have, and despair as a result.
 
- The church itself creates a sense of community...like an extended family

...and many positive by-products, along with it, such as structure in life, standards to maintain, a sense of sanctity and tranquillity.

and I personally miss all these things in my life,
having discarded religion.

But I see theses things as the beneficial stuff that grows on the surface of a corrosive thing;
much like the natural growth that has flourished in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.


To answer the secondary question:

Is it better to "live as if...", regardless of what actually IS?

that depends entirely on the perspective of the individual.

It is like asking an alcoholic who lives in a perpetual boozy haze, if it is better to be sober, or drunk?

In his haze, he feels no pain....so what matters it, really, if he causes pain to others?

Or even if he ultimately destroys himself?

He is in no pain.

Likewise, the self-deluded religious nut is snugly-wrapped in their illusions,
it is a question of what will yield them more comfort:

The Truth...however painful it may be?

Or their Comfortable Lies?