I am becoming increasingly convinced that it doesn’t. The truth or otherwise of the existence of a supernatural being or beings will never be conclusively decided in the absence of proof that convinces non-believers, and arguments around the topic merely cause bad feelings between people of good will who would be better employed bending their energies in solving the practical problems bedevilling the world.
What really does matter is the consequences of religious belief, as manifested in the actions of those who are self-professed disciples of the competing faiths of Jehovah, Jesus, and Allah. The hatreds and conflicts generated by these people rend the fragile fabric of peace into shreds, and endanger everyone all over the world, whether believers or not.
It only takes one person or group to make a quarrel; it takes both sides to make peace. It is futile to talk of peace when one side, or both, have no genuine wish for it. This is clearly the present position in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Both sides are stuck firmly in blaming mode, protesting that the conflict is the fault of the other. There are well-tried conflict resolution techniques aplenty, but they are not likely to get a look in until both parties to this and any other conflict are ready to put the past behind them and to consider the future realistically.
While religious myths retain their grip, this seems a remote possibility. And time is fast running out. Whether God exists or not, his devoted followers, alas, do.
