Did I miss something? Did anyone actually say faith was useless. Considering that you’ve put the word “useless” in quotes, I’m assuming you’re quoting someone.

I, for one, can see how faith may prove useful by helping people to cope, albeit by believing comforting lies. And I can see how groups of people, including the U.S., can benefit if their armies are comprised of people who foolishly believe that when they die they’ll be rewarded for their sacrifice—and people with that kind of belief are far more likely to throw their lives away “for the greater good” than are people who would be hesitant because they realize that after they die they’re probably actually going to be dead. So, no, faith isn’t useless from an evolutionary perspective—whether we’re talking about genetic or memetic evolution—and sometimes it can even be pragmatic . . . but the things in which people tend to have faith are dubious at best: horoscopes, prayer, politicians. . . .

I think it’s sensible to have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow (from our perspective, anyway), because that’s been happening for quite some time now, and there’s no reason to expect the earth to stop rotating on its axis or the sun to go supernova anytime soon. And it makes sense to have faith in people whom you know—based on their past behavior, among other things. But to have faith in things like God, Satan, Santa Claus, pixies, fairies, leprechauns, life after death, or the healing power of crystals is just silly.