As Dan Holliday said... it's always going to be personal. Also, it depends on your idea of god, or your religion (or lack thereof).
However, I tried to come up with a list that does not necessarily need an organised religion to be true (e.g. Pantheism, spiritual non-religious beliefs).
Advantages:
1) Most of the difficult questions are answered. How or why are we here? God created us. Why X? Why Y? Because God, or gods, or deity P was upset with Q and did X. Etc.
2) Comfort. The idea of gods indicates the world has some degree of predictability, or that someone, at least, is in control of everything. So if that force is in control, certainly it knows what it's doing. And you can ask for its help. If it's given, you can be thankful and try to return the favour in some way; if it is not given, considering that the force is also in control of everything else in the universe, it's probably for the best. Things always make sense.
3) The idea that we, specifically, were created, can help us feel more significant, in this very very large universe.
4) Just a general calming effect. Prayer, in particular, helps us feel as if we've done the best we can about things we have no control over. Sometimes we freak out, we worry about things that we can't do, or things we should do... And to reassure ourselves we pray, not to have prayers answered but just to have a listening ear. Sometimes it's all we can do.
5) *BONUS* For organised religion, God can also be a moral compass. When you believe what your God has instructed you to do is morally right, you don't have to blow yourself into an existential crisis black hole before you get your act together. Things are a lot more straightforward.
Disadvantages:
1) You might stop asking questions. I personally found this a problem. I got lazy.
2) You may ostracise people who don't share your beliefs. Maybe not even intentionally... you just share more with those who are believers (more likely to happen for organised religions and strong believers.)
3) You may use your belief to justify actions that reason will not. E.g: slavery, misogynism, persecution of non-believers, faith-healing. This bit can be extremely dangerous to yourself and others. Even if you put persecution of other people aside; I can't count on both hands the number of times I have heard "just believe, you don't need doctors, they don't know anything" or their variations.
4) It can limit your existence. For example: http://www.alternet.org/i-took-c...
It's an extension of the 'don't question' - if you simply accept doctrines and don't challenge accepted social practices, it can be very limiting. This isn't just for belief in God, but since the justification for the practices has a lot more weight - belief in God is often cited as a life philosophy, so you can't run away from it - you're less likely to rebel against things you feel uncomfortable with.
Summary:
Advantage: A potentially meaningful bond, or the feeling of one.
Disadvantage: Potential ignorance.
The dis/advantages are always going to be personal. As a humanist, I admit that there are people who emotionally depend upon their religious beliefs for a significant portion of their hope and happiness in life. As such, I am forced to admit that -- if the root particle of ethics (for us, as a species) is respect for human dignity -- I can find no good reason to discount the value of religion to those people. If life is -- at its longest -- 100 years, what good is it to stop people from believing in something that makes existence better for them.
The advantage that I've seen comes down to:
Bringing a sense of justice to this existence (where there rarely is).Bringing a sense of eternity to this short existence.Identifying a cause with existence and something to endeavor on. Creating a sense of community that people gather around.
Those things aren't for me, but I respect that people want them.
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