Does the religious myth benefit modern society or not?

[theprof00]

Jay520 said:

theprof00 said:
personally I am glad religion exists, though I don't believe in god. It is a useful tool to keep people in line.
I mean, if a person believes that there is some kind of supernatural being (like a ghost) watching them all the time, and will torture them for eternity if they do bad things, like, would you want someone like that out and about making decisions for themselves?
I am glad that there is a set of rules that people who need guidance can defer to in times of difficulty.

I'm not saying religious people are dumb, I'm saying it's good that there is this pretty big part of our social group that goes out of their way to be a leader for people who need to be led.

Considering the fact that most prisoners/criminals tend to believe in a God, I doubt belief is an effective method for controlling individuals. It can be effective for the extremely devout religious. But when it comes to merely having belief in a higher power, I doubt there are any considerable benefits on behavior and morality in general. It's as if people don't think about the afterlife consequences of their actions; or deep down, they secretly don't believe in a God. The thing that keeps people in line today are society's laws, since they have consequences in this life.

I'm not saying it's particularly effective...just that it's there.