Is Religion A Placebo?

We all know what a placebo is and how medical researchers use it as a vital tool in determining the efficacy of new drugs.

What is interesting and becoming more evident, is that placebos do work, to a certain degree.

Medical research has shown that some patients have reported positive results from a drug when that drug, of course, was nothing more than a placebo.

We hear this many times with alternative medicine; chiropractic, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and naturopathy are all bogus "alternative medicines" which have no proven benefit whatsoever, yet those who are of a disposition to believe that such dubious practices actually work swear by them and cite improvement in health after each visit to their chosen quack.

It's a bit like religion really.

There is no evidence whatsoever that there is a God, that we were created, that we have a "soul" or that there is an afterlife. Yet there are those of a certain disposition who are lulled into a sense of false belief that what they have been led into believing is true and that they are set for life and beyond.

There are no reported side-effects associated with placebos yet in the case of alternative medicine we have seen some woeful disasters. Take Steve Jobs, for example, who was diagnosed with cancer and went on some whacky tangent in shunning conventional medicine and going for spiritual "cures". Medical experts have determined that Jobs may still be alive today if he was treated in time with the best, properly researched, conventional medicine. Chiropractors have been found guilty of gross negligence and assault on patients who have suffered strokes and even death because of spinal manipulations. Naturopaths have come under fire for prescribing large doses of "natural potions" which have ended up poisoning patients and permanently damaging their organs.

So what of religion then? Yes, followers are led into a sense of initial elation, believing their life is better but what about the side-effects?
Are religious followers aware of the number of families that have been divided through polarisation from religious belief?
How about the expectation of living up to a particular standard in order to qualify for an afterlife of bliss?
What about the guilt and fear that religious leaders use to instil their dubious beliefs into their followers?
And the never-ending worry as to whether one will be reunited with one's loved ones in Heaven. . . . . or Hell?