I think it depends on WHAT you're placing your faith in. Religions are particularly skilled at weaving stories that encourage people to have faith in their particular belief system. They may say "have faith in God", but the true message between the lines seems to be "have faith that the church is telling you the truth". I find that there's only one thing I can truly have faith in: things I've learned through personal experience. When I watch my own thoughts go by, I see that about 95% of them have shaky foundations: they were things I was taught when I was young, things that others have told me, things that "everybody knows". The only things which seem completely solid are things I've learned from direct experience.... those things are trustworthy, those things have my faith. But have faith in someone's ancient writings? No way, no day of the year.

If you mean, by faith, the willing suspension of disbelief, or a decision to believe in some version fo history, it could be that the person has an uncritical mind or it could be that the s/he is going through rough times and needs comfort. . If faith is trust that God or The Allness or the Universe has qualities that are loving and supportive, that ultimately you will come through difficulties (or, if you die, that the "real you" cannot be hurt or detracted from), can be the sign of a disciplined, calm, strong mind.

I think it's natural and healthy. Everyone has faith, even atheists go on some form of faith or another; even if it's social and real, they'll never really know if their faith is right, just like believers can't ever be sure if what they believe is real-no matter what they say. The problem, at least relevant to social and spiritual evolution, I think adheres to the magnitude of one's actions in relation to said faith. Faith is supposed to be like clothing, you wear it everyday because it's normal and you need it, but it gets a bit unhealthy when it takes you half an hour to put on your boots for a five minute walk to the store, so to speak. Okay that's a horrible analogy, but it means the degree to which someone concentrates on their faith is what's important to determine this, or determines something important anyways, whether or not it's strength or weakness, I couldn't say. Though I only base this on say what Christianity was like before, when it was higher than the government, and how it is now, the majority will adapt to its social and cultural disposition, and that goes for the tax collectors and the repo man just as much, since belief is always more desire than it is logic, and this seems to define faith itself. :/