Does anyone see a benefit to religion sociologically speaking, the reason for it?

Yes, religion is a thread that holds some of society together. But a lot of that has been replaced by media and capitalism. The church is no longer the hub for vast portions of our society, it's TV, music, the Internet, and News. Look at countries with high rates of atheism (Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Japan) they have societies that are actually tighter knit and more compionate than religious countries.