southernhybrid
Contributor
I find the benefits of religion to be far too inconsistent to claim they are from religion.
Most of the studies that show religion as a benefit take care to note that it is the religious community that provides the benefit, not the act of belief or faith. It’s the act of being with other humans in a mutually supportive community.
So if the community of faith is not supportive (like hellfire and brimstone) it does not contribute to positive mental health. And if it is too fractured to be mutual, it does not contribute to positive mental health.
In other words, the god and the doctrine is irrelevant and unuseful. Put another way, no, it does not appear that “Christianity enhances your mental health.” Rather, a regular, communal, supportive group enhances your mental health. The more regular and the more supportive and the more communal, the better - until doctrine poisons it, which Christianity has many built-in mechanisms, unfortunately, to do.
Yes. That is mostly what I meant in my post, but for some people, especially those who have very hard lives, I tend to think that their religious beliefs also bring them some peace of mind. Just because I don't totally understand or need that type of thing, doesn't mean that they don't benefit from their beliefs.
My neighbor has all kinds of nutty woo beliefs, which she seems to think help her cope. She doesn't have any community of friends who share her kooky beliefs, as they are totally unrelated to Christianity, a religion she thinks is nuts. She's not sure if there is a god or gods, but she does believe in supernatural elements.
She knows I'm an atheist and I roll my eyes when she tells me something really kooky, but perhaps her life would be even worse if she didn't believe the nutty paganish things that she does. I can't read the minds of others, so it would be wrong of me to say that her beliefs don't help her deal with her chronic anxiety and depression.