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Religion is mental illness

• Superstitious Folly

Matthew Leeming reviews Asne Seierstad's The Bookseller of Kabul.

For those of us who think that religious belief is a mental illness, this book provides plenty of clinical detail. The symptoms in Afghanistan are pretty florid. ‘Anyone who prints Rushdie’s books should be put down,’ opines one publisher. Men with long hair were taken to the Ministry of Morality to have it cut. All men with shaved beards were to have their ears and noses cut off. ...

Of the 16 billion people who have been born since homo became sapiens, I doubt if more than 500 million have lived in a world free of belief in magical causation or the threat of arbitrary imprisonment and death at the hands of religious police for thought-crimes. Afghanistan is a good place to ponder one’s good fortune in being born in the modern West and not in a culture where malaria is treated by yelling, or the best cuts of meat are reserved for the dead, or it is believed that the motions of the stars are controlled from the liver of a rogue elephant, or divine honours paid to shallow depressions in the ground. ...

Culture of shame

Richard Evans Lee
September 03, 2003 •
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Comments

Atheism is mental illness. Have a happy day!

Posted by: argonaut | November 7, 2003 11:14 AM

argonaut. Can you provide some good arguments to back up your position that atheism is mental illness or are you just displaying the behaviour of a small child who, when accused of being something he/she doesn't like lacks the capacity to respond with anything more substantial than 'you are'? It is plainly clear to anyone who can think that religion is a communicable mental illness that has to be indoctrinated into very young minds that lack the rational capacity to resist. The infected individual then grows up and passes the infection on to his/her offspring. It was a famous catholic who said something like, 'give me a boy till the age of 12 and I'll give you a catholic for life!'. If this isn't a reference to indoctrination what is it? If religion/belief in god is truly the truth, the light and the way, why the need to indoctrinate? We should all simply grow up knowing we should be on our knees before the almighty voodoo monkey in the sky and atheists like me wouldn't exist! Unless you can come up with something a bit more intelligent than your previous comment, don't bother replying to this. You'll just embarrass yourself again. Regards Arioch Radical Atheist ----- Atheism, the psychologically healthy alternative. Try thinking for yourself today. You might like it!

Posted by: arioh | November 29, 2003 5:25 AM

I am just one of many children raised by Christian Mental Illness. The belief in a god is an old bloodline illness created by mankind. The bible of my dysfunctional family was Christian. Most church people do not bother to study where the god idea came from.. they just accept it for truth out of ignorance. The Christian religion is our worst mistake as far as human deception goes. It's child abuse and mental cruelty to tell innocent kids god is real. This only gives the child mental dillusions based on no reality. The religious people have truly messed up the planet... but now we know gods are just fiction and its time to heal all those who think gods are real. The bible is just MAN playing god... with all the preachers lying to people every day... its hard to know the truth. Thanks... A kid ruined by church

Posted by: webtraveler | January 27, 2004 3:18 PM

why do you have to pur your twisted sex preferences in? All religion is MENTAL ILLNESS! A delusion that there is an imaginary MALE Diety who judges and punishes and rewards us for proper or improper behavior is insane. Humans are the only creature that can contemplate their death. They fear death and cannot cope with the thought of it. Humans cannot deal with their animal instincts and SEX, so they make up rules to cope with them and call this Religion. Humans wrote the Torah, Bible, Koran and other holy books. Where was god during --Hiroshima Bomb, the holocaust? The WTC atttack? On vacation? Why would a diety want a week old baby to suffer excruciating pain from a scalpel cutting his penis? Why would god who created the sun, the earth, and formed man out of dust --need a human woman Mary to create a son? Why would god allow the torure of his son to forgive bad actions of people thousands of years later? Belief in this fantasy/fable is a delusion and total insanity!

Posted by: sendek | February 9, 2004 12:47 AM

yeah i think i have a history of religious mental imbalance in my family too, my uncle was kicked out of his church in michigan because he believed womanizing with women from his church in front of his wife and kids was ordained by god, this guy was banned discredited shamed publicly his wife and kids left him and now he is visiting us in chicago. i dont want his crazy ass here in this house i gotta move out.

Posted by: travis | April 14, 2004 9:11 PM

Hi Richard, I too am an Atheist. I went to Church for several years (never believed but wanted to) and I have never seen so many mentally unstable people in one place without bars on the windows. Keep up the good work. It's going to take a lot of hard work to illuminate the darkness religion has brought to this world but together, we can do it I feel. Religions of 2000 years ago have no place in the here and now and people are slowly beginning to see that. They have thoughts and feelings and no longer want to defer their power over to some unseen being 'out there' but rather, own and accept the knowledge 'in here'. You're doing a wonderful job. All the best mate, Jonathan.

Posted by: Jonathan | April 28, 2004 6:16 PM

Congratulations from Bulgaria. My name is Veselin Vasilev. I have a friend of mine who is religious and I feel for him... It is obvious he is brain-washed from his mother, also too religious. I never try to believe in something that is not proved - but they, the christians, etc. , tend to believe in what they prefer to believe, thus shifting the reality and reducing the reality to what they need - self-delusion.

Posted by: vesko vasilev | May 26, 2004 10:26 AM

I was raised around such a mentally ill community in the columbia basin , central washington area, but not in the mental ill church I did go to a mormon chuch for 7 years as a governor and majors reseach project to geather information for thier exicution. If not curable they must be destroied, thier own scripture, law history, and phycology, all agree. live our contitution art. 12 sec 22 any commodity or product can not be illegal the narc. cops anre a part of the mental illness. in grant county art 4 sec 5 they do not even qualify for judges, art 4 sec 10 art 1 sec 24 art 11 sec 11 thier cops are treason art 1 sec 27 art 11 sec 14 making money by buying drugs then arresting someone art 22 sec 1 &2 they are not the 13th district and many more walla walla rcw 74.18 and more the law of excultion they can not even have a job inany postion of power or defend them selves in any court situation thank you john cunningham 12864 beverly burke rd s royal city washington.

Posted by: John cunningham,whorus gash licer | May 28, 2004 9:51 AM

Yes, religion is definitely a mental illness. It is a total dilusion created by humans to make life and its unbearable moments more tolerable. Just talk to ex-alcoholic, drug addict, or ex-felon. It becomes very quickly apparent that religion is for the ignorant, poor and uneducated in our society. It is a fact, the higher you intellect, the more likely you are not to beleive in a god. By definition, religion is a superstition. Check it out in any Webster dictionary. Those who hold religion so sacred tend to be ignorant people who have pathetic and depressing lives. The Bible is a "Hate Book". A way for people to feel superior than ever other group of people. To feel like you are special, and are one of the chosen, holy few. People, wake up and face reality. Religion is a hoax, another polical organization used to control people in our society. The bible is full of contradictions and scientific blunders from page one in Genesis. If god created day and night on the first day, and created the sun and stars on day 4, where did the light come from on days 1 thru 3 ? The god of the bible is a hateful, vendictive god. If there really was a god like that described in the bible, I would rather have a seat in eternity next to the devil. At least I would know where I stood.

Posted by: Duane | June 2, 2004 12:32 AM

Why so defensive, folks? It's so sad seeing your well-intentioned but logically futile ramblings against God.

Posted by: Andy | June 6, 2004 6:30 PM

Hmmmmm... "The bible is full of contradictions and scientific blunders from page one in Genesis. If god created day and night on the first day, and created the sun and stars on day 4, where did the light come from on days 1 thru 3 ?" I'm sorry, but that is one of the poorest arguments I've ever heard. I've heard evolutionists spout better evidence stating we came from rocks. If you had botherd to read beyond one passage, which I don't believe you did, you might understand a bit more. Firstly, the simple fact that there was light without stars proves that God (or a god, depending on your prefererence) would have had to do it. Your mind is bound by physical bylaws, and you seem to refuse to understand, as many evolutionists, for example, seem to fail to understand, that God (or a god) is the only way for such things to occur. For heavens sake, the simple fact that the universe exists is proof of a God. Unless you want to contradict man's own science. The first law of thermodynamics "matter cannot be created or destroyed" is subject to the physical universe. And therefor, can only be broken by God (or a god). Personaly I don't care wether your a deist or a christian, the simple fact is God exists (in the words of Max Ehrmann, however you see him to be). As for all your speech about upbringing, I wasn't brought up in a heavy religious enviorment. Quite the opposite, I was born in the former Soviet Union. I served in some part in every war from The Great Paitriotic War(WWII) to the last days of the Cold War. Through all the blood I've been through, I've still managed to determine there is a God. There's a piece of old oriental wisdom that states "Do you need proof of God? Do you need to light a torch to see the sun?". In my view, that's probaly the truest proverb I've ever heard. -Anomynous

Posted by: Anomynous... | June 7, 2004 8:49 PM

To anonymous, If you weren't there in the beginning or didn't see God with your own 2 eyes then thats just YOUR opinion! One thing you can't debate is that the Bible IS full of contradictions.

Posted by: Carla | June 15, 2004 11:35 AM

mental illness is pretty quickly being redefined as "chemical imbalance", so I'd go for "defective meme" as a better approximation

Posted by: anon | June 19, 2004 1:28 AM

A definition best left to lazy psychiatrists and drug industry profiteers.

Posted by: Dr. Theology | June 19, 2004 6:37 AM

The problem I see with these posts is that you're venomous Atheists. I live in a country where we can be Christians, Atheists, Buddhists, Mormons, whatever. If you're an Atheist, then be that and go about your business. Don't try to convert the Christians...we don't like fanatics any more than you do! I agree with the person who came from the Soviet Union...take away the freedom to have the religion (or not) of your choice and you'll see just how much it means to some people. Life doesn't always make sense and God did not promise us a life of wine and roses. What He promised us was a shelter from the storm...a place to go to restore our souls. For me personally, I don't find that in a church...I find it in nature and all the wonders that surround me. I find it in the smiles of young children who can find good in just about anything. What happens to your soul is between you and God (or yourself if you're Atheist). Don't condemn Christians for believing just because you don't.....

Posted by: Anonymus | June 20, 2004 12:19 PM

Anonymus, No one here has tried to take away anyone's freedom nor has any interest in converting you to anything.

Posted by: Richard | June 20, 2004 12:32 PM

I strongly think that religion is not a mental illness. If religion is a mental illness... does that mean that anything any indiidual believes, or thinks is an illness? If you think that evolution occured... is that an illness? No... thats just what you believe. Yes, many people have had Christianity shoved down their throats, but every Christian I know, enjoys being a Christian. It is not a brainwash technique. If it is... how to you explain those who come to know God on their own? If religion is a mental illness... then everyone in the world is "sick" because everyone believes something.

Posted by: me | June 25, 2004 9:34 PM

Just a fun bit of science-nerd trivia for everyone: Current research on a disorder called Temporal-Lobe Epilepsy has begun pinpointing the areas of the brain responsible for spiritual experiences. Individuals who have TLE often undergo sudden and dramatic spiritual changes when their disease manefests, in many cases going from agnostic or atheist to strongly and actively "born again" in one faith or another. The abnormal electrical activity in their temporal regions is directly connected (via medical studies) to these personality changes and "crises of spirit." Because of this unusual symptom, TLE has prompted studies of the human brain where EEGs or fMRI scans are run while a person prays or meditates, as well as electrode tracking during attendence of religious ceremonies. Conclusive psychological and neurological data has established that all major religions employ methods of group meditation, chanting, or ritual that are specifically (though perhaps not intentionally) aimed to reduce frontal lobe activity in favor of heightening lymbic and temporal function; this effectively means that the conscious individual is subverted by emotion and "herd mentality." Additionally, meditation and prayer can be artificially heightened through electrical stimulation of certain areas. Participants in such experiments can have a spiritual state induced by an experimenter, and most often report feeling "a presence" or "like they are not alone in the world" when the stimulation is applied. Just some stuff to mull over. Oh, and to the doofus who claimed the existence of the universe proves God must exist...please read some basic freaking physics, because it completely negates both the need for and the possibility of God.

Posted by: zombiedeathkoala | June 28, 2004 9:49 PM

In regards to research being done on TLE (Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.) An episode of Nova, recently televised on Public Broadcasting Station (PBS), detailed a young man affected by TLE as a result of a head injury. Both during and after his epileptic episodes, this individual would have such extremely profound spiritual experiences, even the smallest things, such as a grain of sand, seemed more significant than they really were. In his perception, he felt these experiences were so wonderful and beautiful, suicide was the only way he could escape society and become one with them. He felt that nobody else understood him and only he could understand these profound visions. The fact that the young man had no religious training or tendencies before the car accident makes this case even more interesting. One day he is just a normal everyday teenager. After the accident, he becomes worse than a raving, suicidal buddist on LSD. It just seems coincidental that brain chemistry, for the most part, has a great deal to do with our tendency toward religion. If it can be argued physical brain damage can create inordinate, fanatic religious behavior in a young adult, couldn't a chemical imbalance in the same region of the brain cause the same effect? The chemistry of the mind is a very little understood subject. By submitting to religious tendencies, could we be creating the same emotional, chemical states in our own brains? P.S. It's sad to note the young man who suffered from this strange form of TLE committed suicide two weeks later as a result of his profound spiritual experiences.....and he never once touched a bible. Self-induced chemical state? The evidence would seem to suggest so.

Posted by: SqueakyWeazel | June 29, 2004 3:34 AM

Dr. Sam Vaknin wrote a telling article on religion and narcissistic personality disorders here: http://www.jesus21.com/content/faith/index.php?s=narcissism_and_god Here is an excerpt: "God is everything the narcissist ever wants to be: omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, admired, much discussed, and awe inspiring. God is the narcissist's wet dream, his ultimate grandiose fantasy. But God comes handy in other ways as well." I found his article describes the dynamic of the evangelizing Christian to a T. Our government outlaws drugs because they are dangerous and damaging to a few - much less dangerous and damaging than religion is. I don't believe they should outlaw religion, but I do believe they should draw a line in the sand and prosecute more fully the harmfully delusional aspects - such as terrorizing children with stories of Hell, preventing women from working, and the sexual obsession that drives so many to continually lurk in other people's bedrooms.

Posted by: Miss Poppy | July 5, 2004 9:00 AM

I'm very interested in the TLE phenomenon...but I do have one thing to add. To zombiedeathkoala: I do believe that the world's most famous physicist, Albert Einstein, became not less but MORE convinced of the existence of God (a higher power, whatever) as he continued his work. And nowhere in physics has it ever been proven that there is "no need for God." (Please, enlighten me if you have any evidence otherwise). So, in the realm of physics, it appears that In reference to spiritual experience & TLE...Human experience is one of sensation and perception, centered around the brain. What makes God any different? Does the experience of God appearing as traceable make it any less real than thoughts or "laws" or sensations of the tangible world? I would posit the opposite. Since God "shows up" in the brain, that experience is just as real as any other. So, unless you're an extreme existenialist, you've gotta admit the EXPERIENCE, at least, is valid. As a side note: are you atheists happy? Seriously, this is a question I want an answer to...is there anything really wrong with deluding yourself to maintain hope? Or it that delusion necessary?

Posted by: Curious | July 8, 2004 1:01 PM

Are atheists happy? This is one of those old, not greatly enthralling questions believers like to ask. I wouldn't speak for all atheists, we are a diverse group and our atheism isn't necessarily the most important part of our lives, merely a detail. I'm happy. Most but not all of my friends are atheists and instances of unhappiness in their lives have nothing to do with their atheism. Besides happiness or the lack thereof isn't relative to epistemology.

Posted by: Dr. Theology | July 8, 2004 1:31 PM

"As a side note: are you atheists happy? Seriously, this is a question I want an answer to…is there anything really wrong with deluding yourself to maintain hope? Or it that delusion necessary?" This is what I don't get. Here you pretty much admitted that you actually don't BELIEVE in God, i.e. you don't actually believe that he OBJECTIVELY, TRULY exists, because otherwise it wouldn't be a delusion. This is what I wonder: does anyone actually really believe that God exists after examining the question, or do they just create a block in their mind because the idea of a godless world is too painful for them, as we all do with certain particularly deep-seated or painful questions? The last sentence of the poster above me can't be repeated or rephrased enough: IF SOMETHING MAKES YOU HAPPY THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT REAL!!! Personally, I couldn't even be made happy by something that I knew deep down to be false. Just THINK for a second - what BASIS is there??? You can spin convoluted arguments about thermodynamics and the origin of the universe all you want - the argument is ridiculous to anyone who takes a second to look at it. Because there is a universe and you conjecture that it must have come from somewhere (though there are things wrong with that right off the bat), that means that it necessarily came from a God, who has a 'plan', and cares about what we eat and who we fuck? Yea, very logical. The origin of the universe is in fact a concept beyond finite human understanding. Concepts like infinity, time, multiple dimensions, etc. come into play. You can argue that there is some kind of first or underlying principle of creation or existence, perhaps the sum of the laws of physics, and I'll accept that. Any claim beyond that regarding a 'god' is completley unfounded. I could also do without arguments like 'hey be an atheist if you want but don't knock others' religion!' Let me explain why this is absurd. First of all, I'm sure you have no objection to christian preaching sites. Secondly, the point is that just by being a Christian, you are automatically bashing all other religions. It's unavoidable when you believe that anyone who doesn't follow your religion is destined to burn for eternity. So if I can stand to not be offended at that, you can stand to not be offended at atheists expressing their views.

Posted by: Alex | July 9, 2004 2:45 AM

It was said (a few messages back): "Does the experience of God appearing as traceable make it any less real than thoughts or laws or sensations of the tangible world? ... Since God shows up in the brain, that experience is just as real as any other. So, unless you’re an extreme existentialist, you’ve gotta admit the EXPERIENCE, at least, is valid." Yes, the experience is valid, you can't deny that. But it's how you explain the experience, that counts. We know mental illness and stress can cause so-called religious experiences: "Jesus told me to kill my mother, and I did". So the idea that ALL religious experiences are caused by a weird quirk of human psychology should not be dismissed lightly. Plus, many religious fundamentalists show other symptoms of mental illness, such as paranoia for example, and the incredibly arrogant belief that they're superior to everyone else (often found in serial killers). Not to mention their bizarre attitude to food. Many Orthodox Jews, for example, cannot eat a meal where meat and milk have touched each other. Either in preparation, or when they're served. It's pretty similar to the strange food faddishness found in many mental institutions, where people refuse meals if they are arranged on the plate in the wrong way, or only accept foods of a certain colour. Except that one is socially unacceptable, and the other is normal religious practice. Makes you think, huh?

Posted by: Alianne (another happy atheist) | July 10, 2004 11:20 AM

Sigh... Why are people so passionate about slamming each other for their manifold differences...? Atheism is NOT a mental illness. Theism is NOT a mental illness. However... I am under the creeping suspicion that being a big callous arrogant jerk HAS to be some kind of mental illness! -_-

Posted by: Irony Blade | July 10, 2004 7:18 PM

I have a website titled; "Religion is a Mental Illness". http://home.earthlink.net/~dlsurman/ It is a little risque, but has some good links and arguments about religion. If you are easily offended by religious sarcasm, this site is not for you.

Posted by: Secular Humanist | July 12, 2004 10:59 PM

Whether this topic is out of date or not, let me tell my piece. No, my STORY about why Religion is going to the dogs. My mother was walking along a street in Ottawa, Canada a few years ago when she saw an injured bird lying against a building. At the same time, a man who gave off the fierce idea of being Muslim, saw it too and both bent down to help it. My mother told the man that they must find a way to help the creature. The man replied, "Yes, Yes! Big reward in Heaven!" This saddens me. Is religion brainwashing us so that we no longer do acts of kindness for the simple sake of being kind, or feeling the need to help others, but instead for the knowledge of being rewarded in the afterlife? Although this may or may not be related to the current issue, I believe that it helps point out that Religion is, perphaps, a mental illness.

Posted by: Simpleton | July 16, 2004 3:27 PM

Simpleton, you have been alias'ist wrong. Nothing beats a good example to make a good point. Religion in all its forms and variations provides answers to people burdened down with the realities of existence in a hopeless situation. Did you notice the more deprived and wretched ones life is, the more religious they seem to be. In addition, those who's lives are not wretched can get very religious when their existence(life) is all of a sudden threatened, or they have lost a loved one. Again looking for answers in a hopeless situation. Remember when Jack Nicholson in the movie "A few good men" was demanded to tell the truth and he responded "You can't handle the truth". Well many can't handle the truth that there is no logical evidence there is such a thing as a god, and can't expect any help here when desparately needed. At the same time, we have all heard the Army saying "there are no atheist in foxholes". Since I have been lucky enough so far to have handled tough hits in life(as defined by life in the USA of course), I don't know if my "Reasoned Logic" would go to hell on a sled if what I really needed at the time was Emotional Faith.

Posted by: Jim | July 16, 2004 10:02 PM

I'm not sure that religious belief is a symptom of insanity. It's merely a (very bad) habit, one most people are indocrinated in from birth, and at it's root, is probably a coping mechanism that we're hard wired by our DNA to accept (like seeking out attractive sexual partners.) It's the only way I can logically justify why so many otherwise sane and intelligent people just accept the existance of God on blind faith. Since none of the world's religions (even all the various flavours of Christianity) can come to a consensus as to the nature of God, if even ONE of them is actually correct, the rest of them must by definition be wrong. Therefore anyone with very strong religious beliefs has to believe that their religion is the only true religion. And there's a pretty good chance that they'd be wrong. To be wrong or maintain a "wrong" belief system is not necessarily the same as being insane. I can believe that I put my car keys on the kitchen counter, but if they are not there, that doesn't mean I'm insane, just mistaken. On the other hand, if a person decides to reject all religions, in other words, not to follow any of the world's religions, because she can't determine which one of them is the true religion, and yet decides to believe in and worship (?) a supreme being anyway, she will then have to decide for herself what the nature of God is. This being will essentially be one of her own creation. Wouldn't creating an imaginary being and then believing he actually exists be symptomatic of insanity??? It's far more logical to just reject the very notion of God altogether and just determine your own rules of conduct and meaning for your life.

Posted by: hyperactive | July 26, 2004 4:15 PM

I think I would be an interesting case study for whether or not religion = mental illness. I have had one hell of a life. If I were to write a book, I would call it The Cursed, or The Damned, or maybe just The Winner in the Category for the Worst Luck Ever. First of all, maybe I should start off by saying that I am an atheist. And, I am also what the people around me call a "Christian." The former is voluntary, the latter is not. You would have to understand more about me to understand what I speak of. Remember A CLOCKWORK ORANGE? I sometimes equate it with that in my head, for lack of a better comparison. I was born dirt poor in Louisiana. Mental Illness runs rampant in my family, with my father being a severe schizophrenic and my mother having a severe affective mood disorder. Mental retardation also runs in my family, more rampantly among males. Ever heard of Fragile X syndrome? You can look it up. My brother, who was born with mild cerebral palsy, later developed severe learning disorders in school and now has full-blown schizophrenia that is unmanageable even with medication. My sister has the most severe case of dysthymia I've encountered and the "doctors" have labelled me with all sorts of things, which I am not sure I really have. To tell you the truth, a lot of my pain in life can in some indirect way be attributed to Jesus Christ, or, more directly I suppose, to my parents' brainwashing of me since I was old enough for comprehension, which, if you must know, goes back to before the age of two. I was born an extremely gifted child, with an extremely high IQ. That's why I sometimes wonder if I was adopted. But I know for a fact I was not. Of course, my family retarded my intellectual growth. I sometimes wonder what I would have become if not raised by these ignorant, abusive people, who referred to themselves as Christians, although I never really saw any of them do anything good, or moral, or even dignified. Sure, I was put into gifted programs at school, but the school system was lousy. And when you are a child and you're forced to eat out of garbage cans to survive, you're constantly sexually abused by your father, physically beaten by both your parents, made fun of by them for being "stuck up and smart-like and thinking you're generally better than everbody else," you start wondering why you are surrounded by idiots. I remember correcting my mother when I was 8 years old because she had stated something that was a scientific impossibility (it had nothing to do with God; just a lot to do with ignorance) and my mother told me that "The Bible says that any child what talks back to its parents should be taken to the edge of the city and stoned." And then she poured a bottle of Palmololive down my throat. Another time, she made me sit tied to a chair for 8 hours while she told me her horrible version of the book of Revelations, of how the gigantis "locusts" would sting me repeatedly, how I would beg to die and couldn't, etc., etc. Ok, granted, these events would have been traumatic to a small child, gifted or not, right? Well, my father was the one who started thinking it was a fun game to convince I had different fatal illnesses, I guess to get to pray, and for a laugh. So when I was seven I had leprosy (exzema), and I was waiting for it to happen like my father said. They would ship me off to an island for quarantin purposes, and then my fingers and toes would fall off, then my nose and ears. I would fall apart. This story made me fall apart mentally. I was forced to pray for my horrible sins. Then, my mother informed me some time later that I had been chosen to bear the "anti-christ." I had a complete nervous breakdown in the second grade. I mean, it was bad, and no one cared. I remeber having horrible hallucinations and nightmares and guilt beyond the years of someone so small. I dreamed that Jesus was raping me repeatedly, because sex was so mixed with religion in my house. Seven years old. I got away from my family and went to college for almost ten years. I studied theology and comparative religion and art and literature and science and a whole shitload of things. And logically, in my head, I know that God does not exist, but simultaneously, and even as I type those words, I feel a shock of horror within my central nervous system, overly-conditioned guilt and fear kick in, my hands sweat worse than Pavlov's dog, and I feel that if I don't retract the statement soon, I will be punished. And, oddly enough, I do have the worst luck you can imagine. So, it is like a clockwork orange. Dual personalities, completely independent of each other. One believes strongly that one must believe in Jesus or be struck by lightning, or cancer, or AIDS, or whatever is befiiting the transgressor. But one also believes in logic, and the story of THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES. So, what am I like as a person? Well, despite my education, I live on disability, my panic attacks are constant and my anger at other people's ignorance is out of control. I have never had a sexual preference. I just see people as people, and people are a constant source of anxiety. Recently, I moved out to the woods to become a hermit, but Jesus still torments me. And I say to myself, "I wish someone would take this "chip" out of my head." Or, I wish someone would hypnotize me and take all this away. When I go to bed, I will feel sorry for writing this and pray, while I also curse myself out for being such a silly superstitious ass. Thanks to my culture, I guess. So, does it sound like I'm mentally ill?

Posted by: jenrec | August 1, 2004 1:40 AM

To the guy above... That's tough mate... You're a brave man. The logical brain struggles to deal with what you have been through. May you find peace mate.

Posted by: Ben | August 2, 2004 11:51 PM

If people who "believe" in God are mentally ill, then it follows that atheists are also stricken with mental illness. After all, both believe in something which cannot be LOGICALLY proven. There may be no evidence for the existence of God, but really, there is no evidence at all for the non-existence of God as well. Take a look at and carefully examine any "logical" argument that supposedly absolutely and irrefutably disproves the existence of God and you'll always find that the argument is in some way fallacial. To call yourself an athiest is a misapplication of anger, since the very idea of God can never be logically defended or attacked (since the idea of God or Gods is beyond the scope of logic); I'm sure however that all atheists worth their salt object to the many abominable actions of religions, so if you're honest with yourselves you'll take on the label of anti-religionist. Since it's impossible to either logically prove or disprove God, the only choice for the logically-minded person is enlightened agnosticism. Agnosticism not because you don't know yet, but because you know that it will never be proven either way.

Posted by: Criminal Symphony | August 6, 2004 1:20 AM

jenrec is a perfect example of the strenth of the human mind and also the 1# problem in the world we live in. Religon can be used to serve a healthy sociologic function, re-enforcing the idea that we are all tied together, meaning that human existence is dependant on cooperating with each other, using our intellects collectivly even though we all have varius levels of education and intellect, my *religon* is becoming buddism, just a simple set of rules i use to interact with people on a healthy and productive level not a final truth or an excuse to stop parcipitating in and contributing to the world both physically and intellectualy.

Posted by: william | February 11, 2005 1:28 PM

A comment regarding the post by 'Curious' on July 8, 2004. Albert Einstein was an atheist, as can be seen by his quotes and personal letters at http://condor.stcloudstate.edu/~lesikar/einstein/

Posted by: Parkesy | February 14, 2005 9:06 PM

How do you feel?

Feel free to share your feelings about Religion is mental illness. Please stick to the theme of the entry. Disagreement is fine. Homophobia, racism, and kindred expressions of hatred will be deleted. This site is one of my hobbies. I genuinely enjoy hearing from people and hate moderating or killing comments. Forthright disagreement is fine as long as it is civil.
My thanks,
Richard

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