In what ways has Christian faith and practice improved the mental health of believers? I'm very open to any evidence including anecdotal / personal evidence for the mental-health benefits of Christian beliefs. That said, if there are any such benefits, then they are far from obvious. I cannot recall ever being impressed with a person's Christian beliefs or practices leading to them being emotionally stable.
In any case, if Christian beliefs are beneficial to a person's mental health, then it seems reasonable to expect that a very "Christian" person should be very sane. So if that person studies the Bible a lot looking for truths in it, prays very often, attends church regularly, believes that she or he speaks directly to the Father In The Sky (FOTS) and literally hears his voice, then that person should be noticeably more mentally healthy than a Christian who is "lukewarm." And if we look at the other extreme, a person who holds few if any Christian beliefs risks mental illness, and we should expect such a person to exhibit signs of mental illness unless that person belongs to another religion.
One way to help clarify this issue is to study mental health in cultures that are either very Christian or not very Christian and compare the two kinds of cultures. If the Christian cultures have a significantly larger percentage of mentally healthy people than the non-Christian cultures, then that evidence argues for the health benefits of Christianity. For example, we could compare people's mental health in the Bible belt and compare that mental health to relatively non-Christian parts of the country like New England.
Personally, I found that as a Christian my mental health was actually harmed by Christian beliefs and practices. I became paranoid believing in a wrathful FOTS who could cast me into a lake of fire. I even experienced nightmares about God. When I told my pastor what was happening to me, he only seemed concerned that I maintain my faith. If any person asked him if Christian faith is good for a person psychologically, then I'm sure he would have said yes!
In any case, if Christian beliefs are beneficial to a person's mental health, then it seems reasonable to expect that a very "Christian" person should be very sane. So if that person studies the Bible a lot looking for truths in it, prays very often, attends church regularly, believes that she or he speaks directly to the Father In The Sky (FOTS) and literally hears his voice, then that person should be noticeably more mentally healthy than a Christian who is "lukewarm." And if we look at the other extreme, a person who holds few if any Christian beliefs risks mental illness, and we should expect such a person to exhibit signs of mental illness unless that person belongs to another religion.
One way to help clarify this issue is to study mental health in cultures that are either very Christian or not very Christian and compare the two kinds of cultures. If the Christian cultures have a significantly larger percentage of mentally healthy people than the non-Christian cultures, then that evidence argues for the health benefits of Christianity. For example, we could compare people's mental health in the Bible belt and compare that mental health to relatively non-Christian parts of the country like New England.
Personally, I found that as a Christian my mental health was actually harmed by Christian beliefs and practices. I became paranoid believing in a wrathful FOTS who could cast me into a lake of fire. I even experienced nightmares about God. When I told my pastor what was happening to me, he only seemed concerned that I maintain my faith. If any person asked him if Christian faith is good for a person psychologically, then I'm sure he would have said yes!