Are religious people mentally ill / psychotic?

[lewisnotmiller]

No, religious people aren't mentally ill. You need to warp the meaning of 'mental illness' pretty severely to suggest they are.

(Of course, SOME religious people are mentally ill, as are some atheists. And of course some mentally ill religious people have religiously inspired delusions.)

 

[Sheldon]

Psychosis is when you perceived reality for what it is not.
a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.

If there is no God(s), does that mean religious people are experiencing a form of psychosis that has simply been normalized?

If Jesus isn't the son of God, then a Christian has lost contact with reality when they believe Jesus is hearing their prayers and will come back to Earth one day. It is delusional, is it not? If there is no gods that is.
As theists don't all agree with each other, some of them have to be wrong. So we know for sure that some religious people are delusional, right? Believing reality for what it is not.

Mental illness is no light topic and I don't intend to be using it lightly here. A genuine question this is.

I don't think sweeping generalisations are healthy, but some of their behaviour do give one pause:

Homosexuality and religious.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Actually, for Christians, it takes our psychosis away and puts us in our right mind. (When done properly)

Please don't promote such nonsense. Psychosis is a serious thing and people need actual help with from those trained in dealing with things. Such approaches do actually have the potential to do harm, because when the changes don't happen or happen but don't last long there is a real risk someone will needlessly blame themselves as it appears a valid conclusion the individual did not do something right even though care was taken to ensure everything was done right. And when that one happens it's not unusual for the person to end up in a worse state than before. This also opens the potential to create a self defeating feed back loop of failure and self blame.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Religious people aren't necessarily psychotic or delusional, but, yet, we've seen similar things inflicted on otherwise healthy people, such as a parent who would cut all ties with a child and severe connections of empathy with the child due to the child being gay. But, even then, that confined to a specific few religions and unthinkable in others.
Pseudoscience gets promoted in some, but again it just doesn't fit the description.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Mental illness is no light topic and I don't intend to be using it lightly here. A genuine question this is.

That is self deception at its greatest. There in no genuine intent.

Regards Tony

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Religious people aren't necessarily psychotic or delusional, but, yet, we've seen similar things inflicted on otherwise healthy people, such as a parent who would cut all ties with a child and severe connections of empathy with the child due to the child being gay.

That doesn't make them mentally ill though.

 

[We Never Know]

Psychosis is when you perceived reality for what it is not.
a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.

If there is no God(s), does that mean religious people are experiencing a form of psychosis that has simply been normalized?

If Jesus isn't the son of God, then a Christian has lost contact with reality when they believe Jesus is hearing their prayers and will come back to Earth one day. It is delusional, is it not? If there is no gods that is.
As theists don't all agree with each other, some of them have to be wrong. So we know for sure that some religious people are delusional, right? Believing reality for what it is not.

Mental illness is no light topic and I don't intend to be using it lightly here. A genuine question this is.

I read this a while back. And btw, being religious is not in any DSM as a mental illness. The link is from NCBI-- The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.

"CONCLUSION
Ideas about the relationship between religiousness and mental health have changed over the past few centuries. During much of the 20th century, mental health professionals tended to deny the religious aspects of human life and often considered this dimension as either old-fashioned or pathological, predicting that it would disappear as mankind matured and developed. However, hundreds of epidemiological studies performed during the last decades have shown a different picture. Religiousness remains an important aspect of human life and it usually has a positive association with good mental health"

Religion and mental health

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Psychosis is when you perceived reality for what it is not.
a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.

If there is no God(s), does that mean religious people are experiencing a form of psychosis that has simply been normalized?

If Jesus isn't the son of God, then a Christian has lost contact with reality when they believe Jesus is hearing their prayers and will come back to Earth one day. It is delusional, is it not? If there is no gods that is.
As theists don't all agree with each other, some of them have to be wrong. So we know for sure that some religious people are delusional, right? Believing reality for what it is not.

Mental illness is no light topic and I don't intend to be using it lightly here. A genuine question this is.

A few things worth noting:

• Delusion (i.e. an incorrect belief firmly maintained) does not necessarily imply mental illness.
• Religion is often not so much about the instilling of mental illness symptoms as it is attributing normal, healthy traits to supernatural causes (e.g. getting someone to think of their internal monologue as "the voice of God.")
• Religion isn't as important as religion's PR would have you believe. Plenty of religious people have non-literal takes on their religion or are just going through the motions to keep their family happy. These people might never describe themselves as an atheist on, say, a census, but they don't believe in any literal gods.

All that being said, sure: I think that religion masks or even enables mental illness often enough that it's a serious problem, but I don't think that the average person in the pew on Sunday morning has a diagnosable mental health condition just because they're convinced that Jesus was a real person and they'll go to Heaven when they die.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

That doesn't make them mentally ill though.

I did say similar things.

 

[CharmingOwl]

If we look at what some religions and mental illnesses have in common is that they change your perception of reality and/or help you cope with situations in life that are difficult. I wouldn't say religion is a mental illness but rather tends to emulate or mimic some aspects of mental illness sometimes,

 

[syo]

So we know for sure that some religious people are delusional, right?

Mainstream Abrahamics. Psychoes. They led me to the psychiatrist.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Psychosis is when you perceived reality for what it is not.
a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.

If there is no God(s), does that mean religious people are experiencing a form of psychosis that has simply been normalized?

If Jesus isn't the son of God, then a Christian has lost contact with reality when they believe Jesus is hearing their prayers and will come back to Earth one day. It is delusional, is it not? If there is no gods that is.
As theists don't all agree with each other, some of them have to be wrong. So we know for sure that some religious people are delusional, right? Believing reality for what it is not.

Mental illness is no light topic and I don't intend to be using it lightly here. A genuine question this is.

While there is an aspect of religious that can be regarded as mentally ill by the way they act and behave , I'd say the vast majority are simply misguided for the greater part.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I did say similar things.

Yup. And I know you have experience in judging mentally ill versus other reasons for behaviour.
I just like being crystal clear on this topic.
Didn't mean it to sound like I was disagreeing with you.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

• Religion isn't as important as religion's PR would have you believe. Plenty of religious people have non-literal takes on their religion or are just going through the motions to keep their family happy. These people might never describe themselves as an atheist on, say, a census, but they don't believe in any literal gods.

I think theism in general is heavily overstated in terms of adherents (mostly due to cultural and educational considerations).

If you ask people what they believe, divorced from what religion they 'belong' to, there are many pantheist, panentheist and deist ideals commonly held by nominal theists.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Psychosis is when you perceived reality for what it is not.
a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.

If there is no God(s), does that mean religious people are experiencing a form of psychosis that has simply been normalized?

If Jesus isn't the son of God, then a Christian has lost contact with reality when they believe Jesus is hearing their prayers and will come back to Earth one day. It is delusional, is it not? If there is no gods that is.
As theists don't all agree with each other, some of them have to be wrong. So we know for sure that some religious people are delusional, right? Believing reality for what it is not.

Mental illness is no light topic and I don't intend to be using it lightly here. A genuine question this is.

Speaking as someone who has worked in the mental health field, religion by itself is not considered psychosis or a mental health problem. For something to be considered a mental health problem, it has to create dysfunction in a person's life. So for example, a person can literally hear auditory voices of angels and if it doesn't hurt their life in any way, it is not considered a mental health problem.

The truth is, therapists encourage people to be spiritual, and support their involvement in religious communities. This is because religious communities give a buffer against anxiety and depression. Such involvement is GOOD for us. I realize that it isn't for everyone -- I'm just saying that it is a helpful thing in general. Obviously I'm not speaking of toxic religious groups where a charismatic leader is micromanaging people's lives (what most would call cults). I'm speaking of your typical religious communities.

 

[Kenny]

Please don't promote such nonsense. Psychosis is a serious thing and people need actual help with from those trained in dealing with things. Such approaches do actually have the potential to do harm, because when the changes don't happen or happen but don't last long there is a real risk someone will needlessly blame themselves as it appears a valid conclusion the individual did not do something right even though care was taken to ensure everything was done right. And when that one happens it's not unusual for the person to end up in a worse state than before. This also opens the potential to create a self defeating feed back loop of failure and self blame.

Please read it within the context of the OP

 

[Brian2]

Psychosis is when you perceived reality for what it is not.
a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.

If there is no God(s), does that mean religious people are experiencing a form of psychosis that has simply been normalized?

If Jesus isn't the son of God, then a Christian has lost contact with reality when they believe Jesus is hearing their prayers and will come back to Earth one day. It is delusional, is it not? If there is no gods that is.
As theists don't all agree with each other, some of them have to be wrong. So we know for sure that some religious people are delusional, right? Believing reality for what it is not.

Mental illness is no light topic and I don't intend to be using it lightly here. A genuine question this is.

It is amazing what has been classified as mental illness in the past.
But it is nice of you to be concerned.
Nothing wrong with me, I'm fine. What's wrong with a bit of quiet desperation in someone's life.?
Why has been telling you these things anyway?
I bet it's those atheists you have been hanging around with. Now if you want strange that is where............... well I won't say any more about that, you never know who is listening.

But seriously, it does pay to try and keep an eye on your mental health as you travel through life.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Please read it within the context of the OP

I did. People who promote their religion, beliefs, world views or whatever as a fix or a cure for disease and illness are doing tremendous disservice, and acting recklessly, and setting other people up for nasty, hard failure.
Those with such conditions need help from those who are trained and knowledgeable.

 

[Kenny]

I did. People who promote their religion, beliefs, world views or whatever as a fix or a cure for disease and illness are doing tremendous disservice, and acting recklessly, and setting other people up for nasty, hard failure.
Those with such conditions need help from those who are trained and knowledgeable.

Not to dismiss the value of doctors, but the rest is personal viewpoints and extremist without understanding the empirical evidence of the benefits of faith (as shown in another post)

 

[Brickjectivity]

Psychosis is when you perceived reality for what it is not.
a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.

If there is no God(s), does that mean religious people are experiencing a form of psychosis that has simply been normalized?

If Jesus isn't the son of God, then a Christian has lost contact with reality when they believe Jesus is hearing their prayers and will come back to Earth one day. It is delusional, is it not? If there is no gods that is.
As theists don't all agree with each other, some of them have to be wrong. So we know for sure that some religious people are delusional, right? Believing reality for what it is not.

Mental illness is no light topic and I don't intend to be using it lightly here. A genuine question this is.

Psychosis means you reject the reality which has been presented to you. Someone who believes in gods may have reason to believe in them, so they aren't experiencing psychosis. If someone is experiencing psychosis you will see them experiencing a lot of anxiety, possibly thinking they are being watched or that other people can hear their thoughts. They may talk to you like you know all about them, expecting you to be either friend or foe etc. Generally psychosis is a terrible condition. About 3% of all people will experience psychosis in their lifetimes.