I don't see how teaching dishonesty could be good.

Fuck YES!

Buddism is my background. When I was in grade school, my private tutor once said I was born a girl because I committed a great sin in my past life. She said I needed to make a lot of merits in this lifetime/donate all my to the temples and monks so that I could be born as a boy in my next life. Theravada buddism believes women are sinful- not allowed to touch monks, not allowed in some parts of the temples etc. That’s BS beliefs are child abuse! I hate it so much!!!

Yes it gives them false hope and can be an obstacle the rest of their lives.

O it is so easy to give a simple answer to such a complex question. It is so easy to take ones personal experience and bulldoze all others. One persons reality does not discount others. Me I was raised protestant. My mother was a real deal believer, my father more of a social church goer. He embodied to me the old school best case survivor of religion in that he distilled it down to the morality of treat others, help everyone, do not judge etc. I have lived and breathed the best and worst of American Christianity. Abuse, judgment, fear mongering, hatred....Love, acceptance, mercy, charity, joy. Too me any scientific study would I think have an inherent bias as by its nature science has no room for belief or faith. For me my faith in God is separate from my understanding and use of scientific truth. While I was in my youth I was bullied in the name of God as it were I was also in the name of the what I think is the origin of all bullying; weakness, greed, ignorance, fear. God is an excuse for most people not a reason or a truth. For others though God is a aid to creating meaning, like nationalism etc. While I think rational thought is the best foundation for action I do not judge or feel inherent bias or negativity if someone feels the need or wish for meaning outside of established fact. As long as such belief does not trump rational thought and action. I was not abused by religion I was abused by people using religion as an excuse for behavior. This fact does not create a blanket condemnation of religion. I was loved and cherished in the same way by many people who are true believers this does not represent religion as a whole as some sainted thing without stain.

YES period! in over 2000 years with religion in the forefront, the world has deteriorated where we have problems that may not be able to be solved. Albeit theist will pass the buck and rationalize that it's OUR fault because we didn't believe hard enough or we somehow were able to usurp god's wishes because our will is somehow not in accord with his wishes, when religion's sole purpose is to give us a guide, it has failed miserably. So what good is it when it still does all those other things you mentioned in your opening? do you need "scientific" evidence?

Is it harmful for a person to believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy? Training your children to accept such myths into adulthood would seriously damage them. The god myth definitely seems like the same thing. Most religious groups try to kill or suppress empathy and fairness in favor of following doctrine and “forgiving” the damage they cause instead of trying to fix it.

Why would science investigate religion because science is mostly the venue of European academics and to do so would disrupt an intregal component of European domination. Religion attacks the subconscious with anti Nature concepts therefore making the European cultural idea palatable world wide.

by all means a resounding YES!