Yes I believe so. Some people would be the scourge of humanity without that fear of being judged in the afterlife. I know a few people that only do the right thing because they fear the mythical god, otherwise those same people would be in the news daily committing atrocities in the world.

Some people “need” religion as some others need to be Boy Scouts, or musicians, or perhaps even knitters. According to Abraham Maslow’s third need (no, I am not here to debate whether he was wrong or right) is “Love/Belonging”. The human being has degrees of fortitude, tolerance, neediness, and self-confidence. To satisfy any we need to feel that we are loved and that we belong. Some humans, the feeblest minded perhaps, find that and more in religion. While some of us identify as free-thinkers or logical-thinkers our thoughts and ideas come from a place within ourselves where we are strong, passionate, and motivated. The weak of will do not have that “place within themselves” and seek to find it outside. That “outside” can be religion, any of the hundreds of religions in practice nowadays. Are they wrong? Are they ignorant? Are they sheep in a slaughterhouse? If you answered “yes” to any (or all) of those three posited questions then, who are you to command such authority? Who are you to make such accusation? In the end, when it is all said and done, when planet Earth either implodes due to forces of nature or divine forces . . . One group will be dead right . . . the other will be dead wrong . . . Nonetheless, we will ALL be dead!!!

Some people out there find comfort in having some higher power to count on, and I don't see a problem with that. It doesn't necessarily make them ignorant or immediately dismissive of the facts (science, etc); it just means that that's what they chose to find comfort in. Different people have different reasons. Maybe some people do need it, because it's something for them to count on. A set of principles to guide their lives on. And granted, there are some people that take it too far, but it's not everyone. Some people just need to believe they have something/someone in their corner.

I don't think anyone "needs" religion, however, that being said, there are obviously many people who are currently so brainwashed that the crutch of religion feels essential to them.

That is or would be really hard to determine.

Virtually all communities and societies have shared stories that help define them, and as a part of a shared culture, but as knowledge increases and the unanswerable becomes more and mroe answerable, will we still need stories to explain the unexplainable?

If there aren't some people don't need religion, then I suspect that religion will descend back into just shared cultural stories as society gains more facts that explain things in an understandable way to us. There may be those who are just not intellectually capable of understanding facts that explain things, and i think we are already seeing that in our society, so it is possible that for some people who either can't understand or deal with the facts of reality, they may need religion for their peace of mind.

There's people who could benefit from certain religions but I don't think there's anybody who could only obtain that help from religion.

I know people who know the evidence yet still reject it in favor of their God belief. If the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead after three days, he rose from the dead and If the Bible says Noah's Ark happened then the data showing it didn't is flawed. I would say these people just want to believe. Truth be damned.

No one in the right mind, I think.

Joel Osteen? Jim Bakker? The Pope? The people who profit from it.

If believing in being tortured by some all loving being is what stops you from harming children and animals, Then I suppose.

Some people benefit from a sense of belonging. Some people might feel lost without instructions on how to live. To each his own.

No.

Next question ...?

They did at one time but not anymore that we have progressed in science. Religion is a burden of moving forward and becoming a better society that believes in ourselves and what we can do for our world.

Man feels the need to have a sense of purpose. through religion, purpose is outlined and taught and instilled, for this reason so many feel the need for religion.