Do you see any benefits to religious faith?

[Arkilogue]

What does it matter what a person believes if the practice of it produces no harm and even some benefits?

But can a religion survive if none of its practitioners inflict any harm?  I imagine that if all Christians and Muslims at this moment decided that from here on out they would practice their faith in a truly benign way, which is to say, they would no longer give preferential treatment to the ancient stories to the point that all other knowledge is, by definition, secondary, and, where conflict appears to arise, distorted, incorrect, etc.; if they abandoned the presumption that each word in their holy texts is infallibly true; if they demanded reason and evidence for the claims made in their books as they do for any other proposition of a similar nature, and remained opened to revising their opinions where facts or probabilities suggested otherwise; if they instilled within their children a curiosity to hear opposing viewpoints where there are credible arguments to be made; in a word, if they became less dogmatic, could they even call themselves Christians or Muslims in such a way that is consistent with the spirit and letter of the Pentateuch/Gospel/Koran?  I'm doubtful.

The Hare Krishnas seem to do just fine.

What you are talking about are forms of religion and they have risen and fallen over time as the spiritual needs of the people change. As children, all we needed was a stepping stool to reach what we wanted on the counter....now as an adult the 2nd story roof needs patching and I need a 28 ft extension ladder.

We have matured as a species (some what) and our needs are greater than they were, the old forms no longer meet many peoples needs. We need more input because we have grown. And what doesn't grow with us will burst as is happening now.

But there are more virulent forms of religion like Islam which rewards martyrdom and the killing of others with a paradise filled with sensual pleasures. Christianity simply can't compete and the Hare Krishna's would flee in a blur of orange and tambourine jangles.

Most of the time in history, a new religion supplants the former ones.