Do you see any benefits to religious faith?

[robvalue]

Believing you have more oversight and protection going on than you actually have can be dangerous, too. But of course, most religious people don't seem to put a lot of stock in this and take all the same precautions as atheists.

Believing you can magically change things by talking to yourself is such a weird idea I couldn't really comment.

[KevinM1]

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 off, paragraphs.  I hear they're all the rage now.

Second, no.  Your question(s) essentially precluded the answers most people who believe give in addition to their belief - a sense of community, organized charity, etc.

For me, personally, I cannot fake my way through life.  I cannot live according to the tenets of a thing if I believe that thing is false.  My behavior stems from a humanist belief system, not from being afraid of sky daddy coming home.

Honestly, a lot of this seems like a convoluted way of asking whether it's reasonable to buy into the apologist's "what if you're wrong?" schtick.  But I may be misunderstanding due to it being a Pink Floyd-ian wall of text.

[downbeatplumb]

The benefits of religion are often also its failngs.
It brings people together, but only if they share the faith.
It gives certainty of knowledge, but the facts are wrong.
It gives unity of purpose, which is easily and often turned to evil actions.
Etc etc.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I can see one benefit. There are people who are ONLY prevented from following a life of unrestrained depravity by their fear of what God will do to them. If it takes going to church every Sunday and reading the Bible on a daily basis to keep these individuals from running amok in the pub with a machete, then I'm all for it.

Not to say that religionists can't behave startlingly badly (we all know they can), but for the handful who believe - deeply and sincerely - that their faith is all that keeps them from behaving monstrously...yes, I'd call that a benefit.

Boru

[RozKek]

It depends on the individual and how someone is raised. For me, no.

[robvalue]

I can see one benefit.  There are people who are ONLY prevented from following a life of unrestrained depravity by their fear of what God will do to them.  If it takes going to church every Sunday and reading the Bible on a daily basis to keep these individuals from running amok in the pub with a machete, then I'm all for it.

Not to say that religionists can't behave startlingly badly (we all know they can), but for the handful who believe - deeply and sincerely - that their faith is all that keeps them from behaving monstrously...yes, I'd call that a benefit.

Boru

A lot of people do believe this, but it's just part of the indoctrination. I would expect only psycopaths, and not even all of those, would actually start doing this stuff when they lost their faith. I've heard many stories of people who genuinely believed it and then realised, "Oh, I don't want to kill people after all".

[Jesster]

This is a long question with two parts two it that I have a single, short answer for.

I don't see any benefits to religious faith that could not also be gained through a completely secular lifestyle. In fact, the alternatives to religious faith can do it just as well, if not better, with far fewer harmful side effects. I see no beneficial reason to live with that delusion.

[Arkilogue]

I wonder when the word "faith" came to mean man made belief? Because it's not defined that way in the bible...and in the loss of meaning, it has lost it's function.

If you can limit the words and concepts a person has to work with, you can effectively limit/cap their growth.

[Whateverist]

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?

That depends entirely on what you think are the fundamental concepts of religion.  Certainly, no off the shelf moral code provided by a religion is needed.  We can do without that, thank you.  Nothing from religion is required for maintaining some mystery in life either.  There are plenty of mysteries without religion and its illegitimate category, 'the supernatural'.  Often people will cite the benefits of expecting an afterlife, but I think the shortcomings of such a view point are more glaring.  Too many people will give short shrift to the moment without some limit on time.  As for the anxiety of fearing one's ultimate demise, some might actually find that a benefit.  I do not.

But there are a few view points I share with theists without paying the toll in cognitive dissonance they do.  Like theists, I believe there is more wisdom available than is at my disposal.  But no external genie is needed for that.  Look for it instead in the depths of who you are beyond your conscious mind.  All manner of insight and inspiration can be found therein.  So where they pray for a gift from without, I simply tap the source we all have on board.  It is still a gift which can be revoked at any time, so some reverence for the source is warranted.  So humility too is available without the contrast to an omni-anything being.

[Arkilogue]

But there are a few view points I share with theists without paying the toll in cognitive dissonance they do.  Like theists, I believe there is more wisdom available than is at my disposal.  But no external genie is needed for that.  Look for it instead in the depths of who you are beyond your conscious mind.  All manner of insight and inspiration can be found therein.  So where they pray for a gift from without, I simply tap the source we all have on board.  It is still a gift which can be revoked at any time, so some reverence for the source is warranted.  So humility too is available without the contrast to an omni-anything being.

Careful...you're entering dangerous "the kingdom of heaven is within you" territory.