Re: Theism is a mind disorder.

[mreous333]

Religion is not a mental illness, but a few mimic & encourage the development of them. Christianity, 4 example, mimics schizophrenia & psychosis. It presents delusions as reality that resist existential evidence. There is hearing of voices that are outside an individual's control & the illusion their thoughts are shared. It encourages the loss of contact with reality, paranoia, put down of intelligence, reason & critical thinking.

[crapname1]

why do americans have to speak so fucking slow? i find this too frustrating to listen to.

[CeReAlKiLlErIsBaCk]

It's about time that religion is totally wiped off this planet.

Theists = deluded fools!

[perfectbark]

it would be nice to live in a world without wars started over religious conflict thats' for sure ........

[Fribbler]

Reality is a crutch for people who cant handle drugs, religion is a crutch for people who cant handle reality. drugs are bad mmmmkay.

[Fribbler]

And religion is a crutch for people who have done to many drugs!

[nontheistdavid]

It's characterised by the issue in question being "out of step" with the particular culture to which the "patient" belongs. If this is true then most of the greatest minds in science who changed our conception of the world were mentally ill. They surely were "out of step" in regards to their culture and thank "god" for that!

[nontheistdavid]

In fact cant we say that our entire mind is a sort of large mental disorder because evolution shaped our minds to just deal with approximates "out there". Knowing the constituents of atoms or the size of galaxies served no survival value. Our minds are just one huge mental disorder persay. I will surely be lambasted by posts.

[nontheistdavid]

Sorry for excessive postings LOL but I notice the first graphic Mental disorder/illness? That is revealing to me. Like I said before it is split into two. It seems you can have a mental disorder but it may not be considered clinically a illness. Mental disorder seems to be used as a pejorative along with illness. We all have a mental disorder. The mere fact that we do not know what objective reality is "out there".

[nontheistdavid]

I would like to ask Mr Novella if he thinks that rituals and other forms of repetitive behaviour seen in all religions might be obssesive compulsive disorder but on a larger scale and not as severe in certain individuals who exhibit it now. Because OCD is linked to anxiety and by doing a certain ritual you relieve that anxiety however bizarre the ritual is. Isnt that what religious rituals pretty much do? Relieve anxiety?

[nontheistdavid]

But then a fear of insects may be hardwired in our brain for evolutionary reasons having to do with poison. Also keep in mind religiousity or any trait could have once been useful for some other function then it was co opted to serve a religion function. I just don't believe that belief in god evolved for survival value alone. Personally I think its source came from some other evolutionary advantage that had nothing to do with religion. It can't be such a simple explanation.

[nontheistdavid]

I also do not understand the emphasis of whether it harms society or not. You can have a mental illness that does not harm you or society, does that make it less a mental illness? For instance a phobia of insects. Unless you make a living as a bug sprayer I dont see how it will harm you or society in any significant way.

[nontheistdavid]

I don't understand how one can bifurcate religious psychology from psychology proper. If a person hears voices or has visions he is deemed ill because it usually doesn't correspond to religious iconography. If they do he is deemed spiritual. What's the difference? If he see's ants on his arms he is ill. If he sees jesus next to him on his knees while praying he is spiritual.

[nontheistdavid]

Because your hardwired for something doesn't mean you have to act on that. Men are hardwired to spread his seed to as many females as possible. Most dont because we have sidestepped our hardwiring by cultural evolution. Second because we are hardwired for religiousity has nothing to say about whether god exist or not.

[kurtilein3]

well, i more or less agree, religion is not really what psychology would describe as mental illness.

it doesnt harm the person holding the religious delusion like a real mental disease would do. its toxic to society on a larger scale, it gets destructive because millions hold the same strange belief.

[Klarkster]

As you know RRS I don't disagree with your intentions or approach.

This video is a commentary on the issues surrounding the ability to define a "mental disorder". Which epistemic approach is better. Just because traditional psychology defines a mental disorder a certain way, doesn't mean to say that certain mindsets, theistic ones, can't be characterised as a disorder from a non-traditional psychological or social science perspective.

Keep up the good work!

[RationalResponse]

Great video although I disagree of course that we shouldn't tell theists they have the disorder that the doctor seems to agree that they have. I think some people(us) in this case, should speak this truth, and the rest of the atheist community can present a more subtle approach. Being subtle has gotten us to almost theocracy land, someone has to say something (not everyone).