What does any of that have to do with mental health? This doesn't seem related to your OP at all.
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Religions Are Exempt From Psychiatric Evaluation
- Thread starter Jimmy
- Start date
Jimmy
I have always existed
You’re right that stuff has nothing to do with mental health.
You asked in the opening post:
To which I pointed out that it isn't the content of beliefs that make for a mental health diagnosis, it's the impact it has on that person's wellbeing and functioning. We're talking - or at least I thought were were talking - about individual psychology here, not sociological or world issues. Excuse me for being taken aback and rolling my eyes at the "but religious atrocities" whataboutism.
Jimmy
I have always existed
You’re right. Group mental health is irrelevant.
GoodAttention
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't say irrelevant.
Happiness and Age: Summary
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plodding inarticulateness
Member
Can normal, healthy human brains believe in things that are not true? If so, then the verasity of the Christian story is irrelevant.
Jimmy
I have always existed
Everyone doubts. Even Christians.
Jimmy
I have always existed
I don’t and I know many Christians who don’t
You wouldn't be talking so much if you were sure.
Jimmy
I have always existed
You figured me out.
Proverbs 17:28, "Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent"
Jimmy
I have always existed
There’s wisemen who talk a lot, wisemen who talk little, fools who talk a lot, and fools who talk little.
IndigoChild5559
Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
No. Because things that are culturally accepted are exempt from being considered delusions. Here is the quote from the DSM-5:
"A delusion is a false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly held despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture (e.g., it is not an article of religious faith)."
IndigoChild5559
Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
He/she is correct. Mental illness is debilitating. It wreaks havoc in a person's life. It destroys their relationships, their careers, sometimes even their hope. When you say that religious beliefs are mental illness, you are insulting the those who truly suffer. If you had seen the things I have seen, you would never make your suggestion.
Jimmy
I have always existed
I have seen.
IndigoChild5559
Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
Then why would you make the reckless claim that religion is on par with mental illness?
It is well known that participation in a religious community is actually connected with better mental health. This is why therapists tend to encourage their clients to pursue those interests. Of course there are exceptions. Some religions are deeply toxic, creating fear, exerting control over every element of a person's life. That's not the religions I am referring to here.
Jimmy
I have always existed
…and what are these “non-toxic” religions of which you speak?
IndigoChild5559
Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
Although there are specific religions that have high toxicity, most toxic communities are part of larger, well known, healthy religions, but somewhere along the way they lose that. They might bring in a pastor for his eloquent sermons and charisma, and end up with a tyrant before they even know what's happening.
I actually visited such a cult one time. I was driving along in Pasadena with my kids, and saw a sign for "American Orthodox Church" and thought to myself, wow! That's highly unusual. I had never seen such a thing, and had no idea what it was. Out of sheer curiosity (and you know how curiosity killed the cat), I went there one Sunday morning just to see what it was.
When I got there, all the men were wearing kippot and tallitot. Now I KNOW that this doesn't happen in any branch of Eastern Orthodoxy. That was my first clue that something was rotten in Denmark. It turned out that this community had originally been Pentecostal, but had converted en masse to Orthodoxy. But the story doesn't stop there. The Orthodox kicked them out. You see, the priest of the church decided he was a prophet. He wrote a book and everyone in the church put his writing on par with the Bible. He had stitched together various beliefs from all sorts of places, but that's not what I found troubling. The thing that alarmed me, was that no one dared question him. He demonized everyone outside of his own church. I personally tried to speak to him, wondering what he was all about. His response to me was a hateful stare that would have curdled milk. He clearly wasn't going to put up with any questions, even those with the best of intentions.
All my experiences with my own religious communities have been the opposite. The Rabbis encourage questions. Indeed it was always the student who asked questions that was the Rabbi's favorite. I have always felt loved and cared for. Never afraid. These communities gave me the tools I needed to become a better me. They didn't rob my soul. They fed it.
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I don't think there is any good reason to think it is mental illness. Can you explain how would it be mental illness and why? What do you think mental illness means?