This chapter seeks to answer the question, “does religion have an adverse effect on psychology?” Within the first paragraph, we are introduced to a young man who has just committed himself to God. He gives up all he has, and sells some of his father’s possessions. Upon learning this, his father brings his son to court in order to have his son give back what he owes. The son walks out with nothing, joins a group of followers who lives in abandoned churches, and begs for food. All this is told in order to ask the question previously stated, and with a story like this, it would seem that the answer would be yes.
Some say that religion is a crutch, or a disease that overwhelms people. Freud described religion as “obsessional necrosis” (p.176). George Albee says that “religion…impedes efforts to relieve human misery by teaching that people deserve their fate, that to believe that misfortune and suffering are divine judgments on sinners legitimates blaming the depressed, the miserable, and the angry for their feelings” (p.176). When confronted with the story of the son, it would be easy to see religion as a disease, yet we are confronted by other information that contradicts this belief of all religion being negative.
Oxford University Press’s “Handbook of Religion and Health” lists a great number of benefits regarded with religious beliefs. It tells that religion brings higher self-esteem, less depression, greater hope, and many more positive attributes. The authors establish a good point after listing all the positive attribute of religion, which is that the “Handbook of Religion and Health” only establish a correlation between religion and mental health. It does “not indicate the direction of cause and effect” (p. 177). What the handbook is really indicating is that religion has been shown to lead toward these things. In the end, we are left with both sides shown, but no true verdict given. The authors say that religion can lead to what we say is mental instability, but it can also lead toward a mental breakdown. One story in evidence support of religion giving into mental breakdown is one about the follower of Christ who came down with Alzheimer disease. In this story, a lady who had served God faithfully all of her life was diagnosed and started suffering the telltale symptoms of Alzheimer's. Due to this, she could not remember her prayer list, or work at the activities that had brought her joy through her life. She felt as though God was setting her aside because she had outlived her usefulness. This gave way to depression and loss of self-worth.
Is religion good or bad for mental health. First, allow me to address the story of the Alzheimer's patient. I believe that this is not the fault of the religion, but rather the pastor she was under. I am currently enrolled in Dr. Miller's Old Testament Literature class and we have just completed a section on Ecclesiastes. When I first read this book, I thought it one of the most depressing things I have ever read, until I studied it. Turns out that Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, was trying to convey an important message regarding life. Working in the Lord's will brings us joy, but just because we are “right with God” does not mean that we are free from the effects of the curse. Too many pastors and teachers these days often convey a message that tells how coming to Jesus solves all of your problems. This is far from the truth. God desires a relationship with you, but you must suffer the consequences of your actions. For instance, imagine a father and son from the first paragraph. The son comes to his father in a reconciliatory manner to apologize for his actions. Now, the father can forgive the son, but would the child learn a lesson if he did not suffer some sort of consequence for his actions? If he does forgive his son and does not pass consequence to him, then is son to blame if he commits the same mistake again? In order to learn a lesson there must be a consequence or a reward for an action. This is to say that I believe that religion is not in the wrong when situations like the son and father or the woman with Alzheimer's, but rather the teachers of that religion and their interpretation of its messages.
*Author's Note: This is the last entry I had on my Psychology of Faith book reflections. I may, at some point, go back and make more entries, but, for the time being, I am finished writing these reflections. For those of you have read these ramblings of mine, I thank you. These were written during a difficult transition within my life, and by writing these, I was able to open my eyes to what I believed, and what I was unsure about. I hope that you would continue to read my other writings as I continue on with this blog. God Bless you all.
Some say that religion is a crutch, or a disease that overwhelms people. Freud described religion as “obsessional necrosis” (p.176). George Albee says that “religion…impedes efforts to relieve human misery by teaching that people deserve their fate, that to believe that misfortune and suffering are divine judgments on sinners legitimates blaming the depressed, the miserable, and the angry for their feelings” (p.176). When confronted with the story of the son, it would be easy to see religion as a disease, yet we are confronted by other information that contradicts this belief of all religion being negative.
Oxford University Press’s “Handbook of Religion and Health” lists a great number of benefits regarded with religious beliefs. It tells that religion brings higher self-esteem, less depression, greater hope, and many more positive attributes. The authors establish a good point after listing all the positive attribute of religion, which is that the “Handbook of Religion and Health” only establish a correlation between religion and mental health. It does “not indicate the direction of cause and effect” (p. 177). What the handbook is really indicating is that religion has been shown to lead toward these things. In the end, we are left with both sides shown, but no true verdict given. The authors say that religion can lead to what we say is mental instability, but it can also lead toward a mental breakdown. One story in evidence support of religion giving into mental breakdown is one about the follower of Christ who came down with Alzheimer disease. In this story, a lady who had served God faithfully all of her life was diagnosed and started suffering the telltale symptoms of Alzheimer's. Due to this, she could not remember her prayer list, or work at the activities that had brought her joy through her life. She felt as though God was setting her aside because she had outlived her usefulness. This gave way to depression and loss of self-worth.
Is religion good or bad for mental health. First, allow me to address the story of the Alzheimer's patient. I believe that this is not the fault of the religion, but rather the pastor she was under. I am currently enrolled in Dr. Miller's Old Testament Literature class and we have just completed a section on Ecclesiastes. When I first read this book, I thought it one of the most depressing things I have ever read, until I studied it. Turns out that Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, was trying to convey an important message regarding life. Working in the Lord's will brings us joy, but just because we are “right with God” does not mean that we are free from the effects of the curse. Too many pastors and teachers these days often convey a message that tells how coming to Jesus solves all of your problems. This is far from the truth. God desires a relationship with you, but you must suffer the consequences of your actions. For instance, imagine a father and son from the first paragraph. The son comes to his father in a reconciliatory manner to apologize for his actions. Now, the father can forgive the son, but would the child learn a lesson if he did not suffer some sort of consequence for his actions? If he does forgive his son and does not pass consequence to him, then is son to blame if he commits the same mistake again? In order to learn a lesson there must be a consequence or a reward for an action. This is to say that I believe that religion is not in the wrong when situations like the son and father or the woman with Alzheimer's, but rather the teachers of that religion and their interpretation of its messages.
*Author's Note: This is the last entry I had on my Psychology of Faith book reflections. I may, at some point, go back and make more entries, but, for the time being, I am finished writing these reflections. For those of you have read these ramblings of mine, I thank you. These were written during a difficult transition within my life, and by writing these, I was able to open my eyes to what I believed, and what I was unsure about. I hope that you would continue to read my other writings as I continue on with this blog. God Bless you all.
Comments
Post a Comment