I enjoyed reading your commentary.

religions's main purposes, in my personal opinion, aim to answer questions such as how we came to being and prepare us for the ultimate leap when we kick the bucket. it will all remain conjecture to the end of time unless science proves otherwise. in offering responses to these questions it does offer some comfort. Marx's assessment of religions was spot on.

religions can, but have not if history is any guide, brought enlightenment and moral guidance to the masses even though they claim otherwise. faith and reason are operating in different realms.godlessness is akin to a lack of morals even though acting morally is an entirely rational behavior.

I'd say that religion exists to answer unanswerable questions. The question of what happens after death is one of these. However, as science progresses, the number of unanswerable questions shrinks, and this causes difficulty for some religious people.

I'd say that religion also exists to bring comfort to people who need to feel that there is something bigger than themselves and that there is justice in the universe. I can't fault people for wanting those things, even if I disagree with their means of getting them.

In terms of Marx (and Plato, for that matter), I would agree that religion can indeed be a way to calm and/or control large numbers of people. This is why everyone should be very careful if they have religious beliefs, to make sure that they are not being mislead and that their method of thinking is not being used against them.

I think that religion has the potential to help people lead moral, loving, giving lives, but far too often it does not. Too many people use religion as a way to justify what by any objective standard is immoral behavior, or act against the morals espoused by their own faith, make excuses for their own behavior, and condemn those with different beliefs as "sinners."

You are right that faith and reason operate in different realms. Many of our difficulties arise when people on both sides try and cross that line.