Faith is a belief in something. When you put your faith in a higher power or deity, impressing them becomes more of a priority than anything else in life.
Faith can therefore be a useful tool for improvement. By having such a clear right answer and a punishment for going against it, making good decisions becomes much easier.
Faith doesn’t have to be borrowed from existing groups and religions. It can be individually discovered or even manufactured.
If faith is built from scratch, it can be customised. You can work with your higher power to create the rules of engagement, which can benefit both sides. But for a personal faith to be successful, the idea of breaking that contract must be devastating.