Does Christianity enhance your mental health?

[T.G.G. Moogly]

That doesn't contradict my simile. If government tried to eradicate junk food, that would spring right back too.

Do we want to live in a world where people aren't free to make their own choices / believe what they want to? Should every part of a culture be about efficiency / logic?

One of the contradictions in the anti-religion argument is that the conclusion of scientific thought is that human behaviour doesn't work in the benefit of the species, and yet we still hold onto the idea that we're evolving away from religion on the march of social progress. Science tells us that religious-thinking is an intrinsic part of our world, and yet those who embrace science don't seem to understand this point. To me this comes across as just another version of dogma, rather than the actual practice of scientific deduction and following evidence to a sound conclusion.

I get why people might want to complain about religion, and I understand how living in a world with completely unreasonable people is a bit jarring. But to me there's more peace and beauty in seeing it as it is, than falling under the delusion that religion is an accident / defect of our history.

People of a rational, scientific bent understand the draw of magic and fantasy. If a kid can believe in magic, certainly adults can as well. It's just brain architecture and exposure, easy enough to understand.

 

[Wiploc]

That doesn't contradict my simile. If government tried to eradicate junk food, that would spring right back too.

Do we want to live in a world where people aren't free to make their own choices / believe what they want to?

What part of, "If government tried to eradicate junk food, that would spring right back too," suggested to you that I favor government trying to eradicate junk food?

Should every part of a culture be about efficiency / logic?

??? That's in response to what? If I'd said that there would be less death and suffering if we'd started responding to global warming sooner, would you have made the same response?

One of the contradictions in the anti-religion argument is that the conclusion of scientific thought is that human behaviour doesn't work in the benefit of the species, and yet we still hold onto the idea that we're evolving away from religion on the march of social progress. Science tells us that religious-thinking is an intrinsic part of our world, and yet those who embrace science don't seem to understand this point. To me this comes across as just another version of dogma, rather than the actual practice of scientific deduction and following evidence to a sound conclusion.

Are you trying to say that we'd be worse off if we ate more vegetables?

I get why people might want to complain about religion, and I understand how living in a world with completely unreasonable people is a bit jarring. But to me there's more peace and beauty in seeing it as it is, than falling under the delusion that religion is an accident / defect of our history.

I really don't know what you're on about.

 

[DrZoidberg]

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!

A bit more than a year ago I started going with my Christian girlfriend to church on Sundays. Mostly to practice my Danish. But I like it. It's like an hours meditation. I like the ritual of it. I also like the sermons. In Denmark sermons are written by the central church authority and distributed. So they're all the same all over Denmark. What this allows is for a team of writers to put together excellent sermons. They're always deep and thoughtful. Denmark has a state religion. There's no church/state separation. And this is the state church. I've been very impressed so far. I like how they're so inclusive.

This is the closest church to Christiania. Which is the freetown where drugs are legalized. So there's a lot of homeless people and drug addicts in the area. I've always been impressed with how respectfully they treat these broken, and high people. They always treat them with respect no matter how they behave.

Here's the church.
https://www.vorfrelserskirke.dk/

What's the most interesting about this church is how beautiful it is. Interesting because this church was built in a place that at the time was a slum. It's much nicer than the Copenhagen Cathedral. It's a nice touch. There's quite a lot of good things about Christianity.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Of course it can be helpful. Anecdotes exist. And it can be very very destructive (Andrea Yates).

Which was my point. It is not consistent, it does not have a pattern of doing good. It is no better than random. What’s not random is that human community is beneficial.

Religion does not have a track record for good.

Yes! That's a very astute observation. Since the probabilities of good and bad psychological outcomes from Christian beliefs and practices are about the same, then as you say those outcomes appear to be random and cannot be credited to or blamed on Christianity without further investigation. Most apologetics I've seen lauding the supposed positive health effects of Christianity don't seem to consider what actually causes the good health that some Christians experience.

Besides, if all that Christianity can show is good mental health effects on it members, then it appears that apologists have given up on more striking evidence for Christianity.

 

[steve_bank]

My point of view: Religion is inherently junk. The world would be better off if we all ate more vegetables and less religion.

The Soviets tried to eradicate religion and failed. When the Soviets collpsed it srang right back.

That doesn't contradict my simile. If government tried to eradicate junk food, that would spring right back too.

Junk food junkies, junk religion junkies. junk music junkies...etc,etc,etc. Freedom to consume the junk unhealthy stuff mental and physical of your choice is a cornerstone of western liberal democracy.

I support tye right to live on eating Twinkies and pizza, and the right to junk beliefs.

 

[Jarhyn]

That doesn't contradict my simile. If government tried to eradicate junk food, that would spring right back too.

Junk food junkies, junk religion junkies. junk music junkies...etc,etc,etc. Freedom to consume the junk unhealthy stuff mental and physical of your choice is a cornerstone of western liberal democracy.

I support tye right to live on eating Twinkies and pizza, and the right to junk beliefs.

Indeed. But I also support persistently offering not-junk for a time in a compulsory setting, that people may come to the realization that while junk tastes good now, the regrets are not worth it in the longer term.

 

[steve_bank]

That doesn't contradict my simile. If government tried to eradicate junk food, that would spring right back too.

Junk food junkies, junk religion junkies. junk music junkies...etc,etc,etc. Freedom to consume the junk unhealthy stuff mental and physical of your choice is a cornerstone of western liberal democracy.

I support tye right to live on eating Twinkies and pizza, and the right to junk beliefs.

Indeed. But I also support persistently offering not-junk for a time in a compulsory setting, that people may come to the realization that while junk tastes good now, the regrets are not worth it in the longer term.

We learn by pain and failure not knowing the future. In our schizophrenic culture food companies market both junk food and weight loss meals.

Today the junk aspects of culture are ingrained in kids from advertising at an early age.

There is perhaps a bit of sarcasm in my post. Us hyper individualistic Americans think we have a god given right to self destructive behavior. I hear it in the news, people saying I am an American and nobody tells me to wear a mask.

Same with junk religion. People use the First Amendment to justify most anything. I knew somebody in the 80s who said he does not worry about what he eats or does to the environment, god will protect hum. Junk religion as Wiploc coined. On the other hand there is a growing Christian movement of stewardship of god's creation.

 

[SigmatheZeta]

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!

Religion might have actually worked for me if my parents' congregation had not been hypocritical, transphobic, and hostile toward divergent approaches to spirituality. I had already dabbled in western Buddhist philosophy, and at the time, I believed that there was a great deal that Christians could learn from it. I did not find out until later in life that this was becoming a popular line of thinking in more liberal congregations.

Nevertheless, I believe that secular philosophy works better.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

My mental health is helped by an occasional dose of alcohol. Some friends swear that cannabis or nicotine do the same thing. Seeing a crucifix on the other hand makes me feel like shit. I think christianity has two parts, first to make you feel like shit and secondly to make you feel better. The first part is problematic. Those other methods don't have both parts, or maybe they're just reversed.

 

[southernhybrid]

My mental health is helped by an occasional dose of alcohol. Some friends swear that cannabis or nicotine do the same thing. Seeing a crucifix on the other hand makes me feel like shit. I think christianity has two parts, first to make you feel like shit and secondly to make you feel better. The first part is problematic. Those other methods don't have both parts, or maybe they're just reversed.

Yeah. I don't get the glorification of someone being brutally crucified either. The older I become, the more discouraged I am when I see anyone wearing a cross around their necks. It just seems so primitive to me. I'm not judging the character of those who wear such symbols, but I don't understand the lure of the blood sacrifice. One would think that by now, society would have moved past such superstitions, and religion would have become far more progressive.

The IRS recognizes secular humanism as a religion. While the principles of humanism are overly idealistic, I think such a secular religion could be a positive, especially when compared to the patriarchal theistic religions. Any progressive version of the old religions would be beneficial as well.

Sadly, UUs and Humanists don't attract nearly as many members compared to the old, more brutal versions of religion. Maybe it has to do with tradition and culture. I don't know, but my Christian friends often seem far more attracted to the love and support they receive from their church communities than their beliefs regarding the supernatural. That makes sense. Being around like minded folks once a week can give one a nice emotional buzz. I guess we each get a little buzz from one thing or another.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Religion might have actually worked for me if my parents' congregation had not been hypocritical, transphobic, and hostile toward divergent approaches to spirituality. I had already dabbled in western Buddhist philosophy, and at the time, I believed that there was a great deal that Christians could learn from it. I did not find out until later in life that this was becoming a popular line of thinking in more liberal congregations.

Christianity has literally demonized other religions throughout its history. For example, I remember looking at some runes when my Christian housekeeper walked in, and she flipped out! She told me that if I fooled with such things, then I risked demonic attack. I told her that if that happened, then I would know Christianity is true. Needless to say, no demons ever bothered me.

She was a bigoted idiot, of course.

Nevertheless, I believe that secular philosophy works better.

Secular philosophy has the potential to have much better human consequences than religion especially regarding morality. As we move away from religion, we tend to improve morally. Even Christians are better off with secular morality.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

My mental health is helped by an occasional dose of alcohol. Some friends swear that cannabis or nicotine do the same thing. Seeing a crucifix on the other hand makes me feel like shit. I think christianity has two parts, first to make you feel like shit and secondly to make you feel better. The first part is problematic. Those other methods don't have both parts, or maybe they're just reversed.

Yes. As some people say, Christianity creates the illness, offers a "cure," and then takes credit for it.

 

[SigmatheZeta]

Religion might have actually worked for me if my parents' congregation had not been hypocritical, transphobic, and hostile toward divergent approaches to spirituality. I had already dabbled in western Buddhist philosophy, and at the time, I believed that there was a great deal that Christians could learn from it. I did not find out until later in life that this was becoming a popular line of thinking in more liberal congregations.

Christianity has literally demonized other religions throughout its history. For example, I remember looking at some runes when my Christian housekeeper walked in, and she flipped out! She told me that if I fooled with such things, then I risked demonic attack. I told her that if that happened, then I would know Christianity is true. Needless to say, no demons ever bothered me.

She was a bigoted idiot, of course.

Nevertheless, I believe that secular philosophy works better.

Secular philosophy has the potential to have much better human consequences than religion especially regarding morality. As we move away from religion, we tend to improve morally. Even Christians are better off with secular morality.

Oh, I like to mess with people like that by chanting to them in reconstructed ancient Attican Greek.

I can also quote from De Rerum Natura in the original Latin.