[quote=Imperfectionist]Hmm. Gwazi, I would very much like you to confirm something for me. I am a spiritual person, with a background in Buddhism and Christianity, but no loyalty to any church or temple or sect or institution. I am moral in as many ways as possible, and I believe in life beyond the body, I believe in a consciousness that permeates all things, and I believe in a form of reincarnation that involves not only animals and living things, but planets, stars, galaxies and universes themselves.[/quote]

I'd ask about the reasoning you had behind such a theory/belief, and if I found it was based largely on faith and/or logical fallacies I would disagree with your way of thinking.

[quote=Imperfectionist]Do I cause harm to society, and to the progress of science, because I believe in such things without having gained experimental evidence? Would it be better for the world as a whole if I did not believe in such things? Is your worldview better for my mental health and that of those around me?[/quote]

I would not however try to claim this, unless if you actively went around trying to convince others of this same thing.

Someone operating on faith, but keeping it to themselves I simply find harmful to that individual.
Someone operating on faith, but then trying to force it on others (Ex: Teach the bible, not science in schools) is harmful to society.
->And yes, trying to raise your children to the same system counts as forcing it on others.

The mental health bit I feel might need some clarification on my part.
I should probably divide this into two categories honestly.

1) Poor Practices
Mainly just the standard "I will stand by faith, not proof or evidence" sort of thinking. Something that although not wise or advisable, and may lead to some harmful or poor decisions in the future. But should not in itself effect one's ability to remain happy or generally healthy.

2) Mentally Unhealthy
This is stuff such as "I am but a sinner who needs to be saved by God". Beliefs and practices that actively make the person feel inferior or lesser compared to another individual or being. It could also just be blind hope or dependence such as "Only God can help me with my Depression". Where what is a rather serious condition is left dependent on something that no only has no proof of actually being able to help but something that can easily be shaken or removed, may it be by exposure to certain bible conflictions, certain scientific arguments, or simply division within the Church where others declare you "Not a true Christian" for things such as say not showing up on sunday enough, not dressing modestly enough, suspicious of your new friend of the opposite sex etc.

So in short, with the information provided I'd say I disagree with your method of finding your conclusion, and would urge you to try to use more evidence and proof to support future beliefs. But if this is not being forced on others, nor is it harmful to your mental health if it simply stays as such, and doesn't expand into some kind of reliance or valuing yourself as something less.