Can religion be positive

[FatAndFaithless]

I'm sure you can concoct specific situations where having some sort of belief that can be attributed to a religion would be considered "positive", but I pretty firmly believe that there is no political or philosophical stance, no moral ideal or course of action, and no personal benefit or advantage from religion that cannot be accomplished by more secular means without reliance on faith or ephemeral promises.

Believing in things (even positive things) for no reason or for bad reasons is just plainly inferior to believing in those things for good reasons, and religion gives people bad reasons for being good. Not to mention the fact that religious thinking isn't usually constrained to a single stance on a single facet of a single issue, and that kind of logic-poisoned-by-faith frame of addressing the world often does more collateral damage to one's other beliefs than it gains from having a positive stance on that one particular belief.

So yes, in specific, in-a-vacuum, isolated situations, maybe having a religious belief can be "positive", but overall I think the best that religious belief can reach is "neutral" or "unnecessary" when compared to secular ways of addressing the world.

That's a relevant point. Chewing willow bark can be positive, but not so positive as taking an aspirin.

And, the process by which one arrives at choosing willow bark over aspirin can affect other conclusions one reaches, potentially leading to a decision that is far more damaging. Beliefs don't exist in a vacuum.