I tend to favor pragmatism...or at least, I like to think that I do. To my way of thinking, the "point" of a religious path is to provide people with the tools necessary to face the pressures of life. A social network and a psychological framework wherein people are able to feel they are a part of something or onto something that is meaningful (however they might define that) and wherein they find ideas, lessons, and experiences which bolster them as people; fostering traits such as resiliency, kindness, courage, truthfulness, responsibility, selflessness, etc.
Does exposure to this community have such effects on its membership? In my opinion, thats the question that matters most....and it's a question to which I dont have a definitive answer.
People are complicated.
