What does having a "religious faith" actually do for human existence?

Question

Please don't preach the Bible here. The question does not single out one God but is about "religious faith". If you have educated knowledge of other faiths the answer you give should not come from just one point of view.

Answer 1

Separates us.

Religion is a great sorting tool.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 2

Dante. Michaelangelo. Mozart. Gothic Cathedrals. The Parthenon. The Pyramids. The University. Homer. Plato. Martin Luther King Jr. Ghandi. Raphael. El Greco. John Donne. Gerard Manley Hopkins. Augustine. Aquinas. Bernini. Abelard. etc...

For good and for grief, religious convictions have shaped human culture and have been one of the great catalysts to the work of artists, architects, writers, scholars, politicians. Like all human endeavors, the works of religion have their ambiguities, but the recognition that religion has produced works in terms of the humanities that are absolutely priceless is beyond mere theory.

Answer 3

Faith has two general implications which can be implied either exclusively or mutually;

To Trust:
Believing a certain variable will act a specific way despite the potential influence of known or unknown change.
To have faith in ones spouse that he/she will keep a promise of commitment
To have faith that the world will someday be peaceful
To have faith in a person to pay you back
To believe without reason:
Believing impulsively, or believing based upon personal 'hopes'
Believing in certain ideas despite the presence of contradicting scientific evidence. For example, religion & prayers:
"There seems to be something profoundly deceptive and misleading about lumping together as acts of faith such things as belief in the Virgin birth and belief in the existence of an external world or in the principle of contradiction. Such a view trivializes religious faith by putting all non-empirical claims in the same category as religious faith. In fact, religious faith should be put in the same category as belief in superstitions, fairy tales, and delusions of all varieties."

Answer 4

That all depends what that faith is in. If its some church, denomination, or religion-then not much. If that faith is in the God who created this whole thing-then everything.
Faith is simply what someone believes. If they believe in something that is not true-then its a waste. There are many, many religious faiths. And, all of them are wrong, but one.
You know, either there is a God, or there is not. If not, then none of this really matters much. If there is, then what?

Answer 5

At least in past it certainly was an advantage for survival or otherwise there wouldn't be religions in every part of the world. Religion could create unity in a group of people, set up moral rules and make them binding and so generally be advantageous for society.

Answer 6

Faith alone may not help much, but if someone was really able to contact the divine, I suppose the potential would be unlimited.

Answer 7

It provides a good excuse for mass murders and terrorism, it encourages people suffering from delusional mental disorders not to seek proper care, it promotes ignorance.

Answer 8

Gives us faith to hold on when things get rough.
We try to treat each other better.
Many of us don't kill our fellow human beings.
We try to share.
We try to have love in our hearts .

God gave us the Ten Commandments to live by.

I thank God for being God.

Answer 9

Not much, but being spiritually open is another story.

Answer 10

Divides people, Controls people, Deludes people.