Virtues are characteristics that are desirable in people because they are good for society, and generally agree with the status quo morality of any given culture. We value things like honesty and integrity because they are progress building traits. A good worker is honest with his boss, for example. We value teamwork and courage and honor, and all these other general terms that seem vaguely morally good and could be said about Captain America.

However, Faith is also classified as a virtue for some reason, and I challenge this vehemently. Religious faith is simply a denial of advancement in favor of traditional beliefs. Faith is the epitome of willful ignorance. Believing in a claim with no evidence, and in spite of contradictory evidence, is no virtue. It's intellectual poison, and it corrupts what could have been beautiful minds. Faith is the antithesis of logic and reason, and a direct inhibitor of scientific advancements.

Now, I can already see someone saying the classic line. Yes, I know that Galileo and Newton and Copernicus and Mendel and so many other famous scientists were religious, and had faith. Let me make my counterargument clear and concise so that there is little to no ambiguity: These scientists did not use their religion to make the discoveries, and their own religious faith was ignored entirely while conducting their experiments. They used the scientific method in all their procedures, and they were willing to concede that some aspects of their respective religions were flawed when faced with evidence for such. In fact, Newton even said, "The Bible tells you how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go." When the conclusion was reached that the sun is actually thousands of times larger than the Earth, and that so were other stars, a religious scientist such as Newton would gladly concede that the verse in Revelations that says stars will fall to Earth was false, and get on with it.

So let it be known that I am not saying that no religious person could be a scientist, but that their faith must be tossed aside while they work to find the truth. Resistance to change in beliefs when confronted with new evidence has no place in the science lab, and no place in society. We would never progress if faith was held above reason, so the ultimate answer is that faith is a hindrance and should be abandoned.