Faith provides meaning beyond the material. Philosophy does not require any source of meaning to exist to explain all scientific observations recorded so far, so far faith is always a superfluous assumption not justified by scientific observations.
To accept that events that occur have no meaning is rationally pure, but psychologically more difficult to most humans than assuming meaning. Assuming any meaning takes the edge of hardship, makes some decision-making easier, reduces certain doubts.
As such, faith serves as a crutch to those who want to reduce the hardship of their existence, by blindly assuming some meaning.
It is thus a symptom of inner strength to accept reality without assuming hidden meanings, and a symptom of inner weakness to rely on some assumed meaning to reduce hardship.
On the other hand, faith does not make people weaker than they are, as a crutch it makes people better at coping with some events in the way mentioned before. As an example it can enable humans to blow up themselves as suicide-bombers, who would not be able to do that without faith. More ethical behaviors exist as well, of course.
However, it is not rationally possible to choose to be faithful to reap those benefits. Faith requires gullibility, the holding of certain assumptions without rational motive.