The fact that someone believes there is a God or gods, or doesn't believe, is fairly useless.  This fact in and of itself, doesn't do anything outside of tell something about what a person thinks.   For something that would be relevant, one would need to look to what a person actually believes positively, and see the impact of what they believe is if they followed it.  I would say, to say people merely need to have faith, without quantifying what they have faith in, doesn't do anything, and should be reduced to the study of placebos, and they effects of mind science on the body.  It is disrespectful of the object someone can have faith in, and says what that object of faith can do doesn't matter. 

hmm not sure where you want to go with this thread. I was trying to bring up valid points but I am not entirely sure what point you are trying to make. I understand that the main point is in the thread title. I just don't know how to approach it. Are you saying that it is more important what a person does than what they believe in? If so then I believe that one's actions are definitely stronger/more important than their faith.   You can believe in anything but if you take zero action then that belief is pretty much worthless.

I agree with Seth, I don't quite get your point either but taking into consideration what Seth says about actions and faith, I would have to agree on that, although I think that faith, whether in god(s) or no god(s) might affect your actions.

That's just what Satan wants you to think!

You're making Buddha cry!

Merely saying one believes in God is fairly useless.  I see the net sum of belief in God now ends up being a question of whether or not someone believe God exists.  This belief alone is useless.  MAYBE it can serve as a starting point, but beyond this, it really isn't of much value.  What a faith produces is what counts, not the fact it is and people believe in it.  Part of the motivation for this thread is the prison population thread, and I ended up getting into discussing atheism there.  In that, I had said atheism, by itself, isn't anything.  I said it is a negation of something, so it didn't really do anything.  I decided, to extend this idea to also the concept of theism also, and get into how it alone is useless.

From a religious perspective, I could end up quoting from the Book of James, how faith without works is dead also, in line with this.  But would say also, would rather this thread end up discussing the relevance of belief vs not belief.  I also think, in light of current problems, if an object of faith is to be relevant, it needs to be much more merely than some little shrine someone has up, that fills in discontents they have in the gaps in their life.

Okay, I think I'm wracking my brain about this, but anyway: in my opinion, giving it a lot of thought, I don't think that faith whatsoever (be it in god(s) or no god(s)) is not actually a starting point, at least not, if it's a firm belief. I think it can rather be considered as a sort of fuel. It's a bit like food, I think. You need food so your body can work, so that you get energy. Of course you can also use some kind of protein shake (that would be some kind of agnostic kind of view, I think XD).
What I'm trying to say is: when you have faith, it can get you anywhere because you have something to believe in, whether it exists or not doesn't matter.
On the other hand, if you are an atheist, you still believe in something. E.g. in yourself or in the good in man.
So in the end, it keeps you going. Because if you have nothing left to believe in, you're simply lost.
(I get the feeling we're talking past each other...well, anyway.)

Then, by extension, that would make this thread... useless?

One who merely believes in God is not useless.  It could give a person inner peace.

Thank you, my point exactly.  I just assumed people would get my meaning.  For the same reason, neither Theism or atheism are "useless".  Both mean different things to different people. 

Now I'm off to devide by zero.

I don't think he means to say that the person is useless, just that saying you believe (or not) in something like God is useless.