Are irrational religious beliefs a mental disease?
359038
It was Jonah in the whale by the way.\n\nAnd you are not accounting for those of us who have started believing as an adult, with all of our critical mindedness and resistance to change.  We still have heard the word of God and listened.  We have accepted the gospel and have gained a testimony of it.\n\nNot mental diseases, mental clarity.\n\n\n\nCTR
1082550
It's not a mental "disease", it's a state of mind that switches from being in a peaceful state of mind to being in a stressed state of mind with the help of a small irritation. It's just being easily angered is all...
521801
Not all religion. I would have to say though that FUNDAMENTALIST religion IS INDEED a tool of mind control that allows a small group of people to wield enormous influence over the masses, and I think that's wrong.
59473
There are many causes. For better answer please refer to this link: http://www.thehealthcenter.info/emotions/irrationalfear/\nHope this will help you to find the answer.
951808
Well it's true, a person's belief is stronger than medicine sometimes, faith can heal or injure. A person who wants to be sick will never be cured no matter how much time and money is spent, unless they get the cure they desire. After all it's literally "in your mind" and no one can get in there. They can use drugs to blur your mind, or electro-shock therapy to try "re-wiring"  it drastically, literally forcing you to think differently, the same as people recovering from strokes or major brain injuries learn to. Much of dementia is caused simply by letting our minds go. Do I believe in satanic possessions? I'm not sure, but I believe there is potential for great good or great evil in every person, it's a battle waged within us every moment, and sometimes people feel the best way to face temptation is to yield to it and then claim they are a victim, "temporary insanity", or even demonic "possession." I don't know, but I believe evil requires a human body, a physical presence, in order to have power. And it's too easy to have a cop out like saying "I can't help myself". If a person is possessed I doubt any "exorcism" could work unless they want it to. But I'd like to know if any study was ever done to see if people with no religous beliefs ever get "possessed"?
210946
You know enly, your questions are awesome.  You really have put some thought into them.\nI also have a feeling that you know the answers to your own questions and ask them just to get people to think.\n\nI believe whole heartedly that some mental illnesses are spiritual conditions.  Have you ever wondered why more and more people are diagnosed with depression, ADD, bi polar, and other illnesses every year?\nI think it is a direct relation to the way God's influence is consistently less every year on society.  People are rejecting His laws and ways more aggressively and openly every year.\nIt's not that these people don't have the symptoms, but it is being misunderstood.\n\nNow, I do believe that some of these people really need medical help.  But many of them are in a bad spiritual state.  They lacked discipline as a child, they lacked good family upbringings, values, teachings, etc.  It all starts in the home.  And it will continue to get worse because the home is becoming more lost and wicked every year.\n\nThen you also have your bonafide posessions.  Remember that in the bible, Jesus rebuked many demons out of people who were lunatick.\nToday, those people are getting doped up instead of the demons cast out of them.  Their bodies are calm because of the drugs, but they are a spiritual mess inside.\n\nIf you look with the Spirit, you will know that some people that you meet are posessed.  I have met a few myself and have had confrontations with them spiritually.  It's not fun, let me tell you.\n\nI think the state of this world is in a mental illness.  Their logic and reason is anything but logical or reasonable.  The way society views and handles issues today is sickening.  \n\nI could go on and on about this, but I think you get the point I'm trying to make.\n\nI can guarantee you that you will never find a true Christian in a mental ward because they are not able to be posessed.  Except for real medical problems like Alzheimers and such, a true Christian is protected from spiritual illness.\n\nAs far as the chemical condition of the brain for people who are mentally ill, you have a cause and effect issue or "chicken and an egg problem".\nDid the chemicals cause the condition or did the condition cause the chemicals?  No one knows or will be ever able to answer.
543592
Mental deficient minds of crazy people.
188556
To answer your question - of course it is inflammatory to mock religious types. Here is an example. Religion is a structure based on strong personal beliefs, right? Well, let's use a different structure based on strong personal beliefs. Let's say, your strong personal beliefs are that the Boston Celtics are your favorite basketball team. Let's say that you are a 'rabid fan'. To the extent that you would be willing to confirm this as a witness to all that will hear. To exhalt the team at every turn, hoping to gain converts. If, after revealing this, people began to mock you for your love of the team, it would inflame most people. A lot depends on how it is said, who is saying it, and what approach they use.
456367
TThe short answer: the irrational idea springing from the limbic system of all human brains...comes from our cave man days and shows up as irrational worldviews.
215722
Not really; everyone is entitled to their faith.  When you get into the area of auditory and visual halluncinatons [tho some call it something else ;) ], then, yes, a psychiatric evaluation would be in order.
883244
It is absolutely true that every single feeling, emotion, belief that we have is a function of the brain. Even the denial of this fact from the other people answering your question is a product of complex neuronal interactions. \n\nReligion is not in itself hardwired into the brain. However, the underlying psychological processes which religion exploits - of learning (in religion's case, largely childhood indoctrination), trust, have given humans during their evolution a survival advantage. \nThere is no "God" gene. Belief in God does not provide a survival advantage. Community cohesiveness does, and religious belief is one mechanism of creating that.  \n\nA lot of the world's problems are due to people's inadequate understanding of science. If science (as a methodology for thinking about the world critically) was taught with the same vigour as the religious indoctrination and blind faith were encouraged then we would all be in a much better place!
652223
The more eccentric a religion is the more they need to "push" it onto others.  If you feel that you are constantly being "convinced" about religion, maybe it is time to revisit your faith.
140203
Fundamentalism is not rational or spiritual. It is a mob mentality that preys on the least common denominators of human experience. Fear, self-righteousness, and indignation. For some reason every group and individual in the world seems to think that they have the keys to heaven and the best/only answers to difficult questions. Each of us makes enough mistakes so that it should be humbling. Fundamentalists see the mistakes of others but admit none of their own.
421572
Rationality has never applied to religion as evidenced by the multitude of religions we have. Cults are usually an example of brainwashing and threats.Spirituality, which a lot of people confuse with religion has, in some areas a rational base but, when you move into faith based subjects of all the different religions you leave rational thought behind.
1031646
Most of the people who hear from god are only revealed as extremely mentally ill after they have crashed and burned. If you see a headline "Cult sex scandal," "Cult disaster" or "Cult Mass Sucide" you realise that the person leading the cult was mentally ill. \n\nMost of the people who have been told that the world is going to end on such and such a day and evacuate their followers are delusional or suffering from a psychosis. \n\nMost people that communicate with God have Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). They are normally very bright and NPD drives them to become succesful in whatever field they work in. NPD is found in 1% of the population. NPD types seem to influence the religious and political fields excessively. \n\nFor more extreme mental illnesses  there are no hard and fast rules. A general test for whether a person who talks with God is sane seems to be how many other people share the person's  vision. The more successful a person is with sharing their revelations from God the less likely they are to be diagnosed with a mental illness.\n \nIn churches like the Latter Day Saints revelations were the norm, until revelations were restricted to the top of the Mormon Hierarchy.  On the other hand the Lord's Army's Joseph Konya is definately psychotic. However he has altered his environment sufficiently that he has a host of fellow believers. The Muslim extremist sects have warped their view of the world to such an extent that they may be judged to have lost contact with reality. They may be said to be suffering from a self induced psychosis.  \n\nThere are other physical symptoms that indicate mental illness that can be used to judge someone apart from their habit of  talking with God. A normal schizophrenic doesn't have enough of a shared world reality to communicate their conversations with God to someone else. \n\nOther voices from god may be explained as complex partial seizures. It's a form of epilepsy triggered by specific vibrations. Joan of Arc heard church bells and she would hear voices and see visions.\n\nEach case needs to be judged on it's own merits.
42819
I certainly feel that way. Religion provides people \nwith a sense of comfort in dealing with all the difficulties in life. As Karl Marx first said "Religion is the opium of the masses". Opium is a highly addicitve heroin-like substance that is a pain-killer and mood enhancer.
880458
In short, yes. But it also enslaves people to irrationality and denial.\n\nOne thing I have learned about most religious people is that, facts, reality, commonsense, rational thinking, and the like, have no place in their lives. You can not reason with them - it's the great mystery of human behavior.