Any firmly held, dogmatic belief has a negative effect by diverting our minds from the miracle of existence.

One of the most pernicious beliefs that is causing harm is a belief in scientism with its dogmatic clinging to materialism or physicalism. Such a belief leads to selfish behavior, leading to war and conflict of all types, along with a sense of human worthlessness.

The best belief is no belief at all, rather a sense of total ignorance regarding the deep questions of existence.

I think afterlife is something we made up to explain what we couldn't understand and make us feel better.

ex: If Jimmy gets bullied and gets his food taken away from him because he is small and weak. He will probably come up with some explanation as why. So he says the mean people will go to hell when they die and he will go to a happy place with no bullies when he dies.

So yes I agree with him.

Yes, it allows for martyrdom.

Yes it does, people who believe in an afterlife either don't do what they should in this life because they think they will be happy afterward or they only do things in this life to escape the perceived consequence rather than just being good for the sake of good.

Curiously there is s school of thought that Western thought is aggressive make it happen now because this is the only life you have, and some Eastern thinking is “I’ll do it in the next life, don’t need to bother now.” Perhaps a middle way would be more palatable.

I can see it from that perspective

Agreed. Matt Dillahunty from The Atheist Experience has argued that point with many heart-wrenching examples.

AWhile it doesn't , of course, refer to everyone, I certainly have observed such thinking in several of the heaven/hell gang.

Martin has a valid point but there are plenty of people, myself included, who lack empathy and have the same views. I'm a non-theist, I don't believe in an afterlife and yet, I'm indifferent to worldly events, I don't spend a lot of time focused on those who have passed or relationships that have ended and I don't really care about the fate of others. Some people are just wired differently and that's on both sides of the aisle. And perhaps that difference in wiring is what leads some to seek out religion and others to avoid it.

I would think belief in the afterlife affects the individual who believes it.