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Fixed my original post.

mudogramx wrote:

I know many of you on the board are religious.  This is not intended as an insult to anyone who is, although it could easily be interpreted that way.  If so, thats not my intention.  This is a serious question.  Could religion be classified as a mental illness?  By mental illness I mean the literal interpretation of what a mental illness is defined to be.  Not mental illness in like zomg im crazy and I'm going to kill some people mental illness.  I'm looking at it from a cultural standpoint, in the sense of how we define mental illness.  Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way.  Discuss!

If you flip through a copy of the DSM-IV you will note many disorders/illness require the person to suffer a significant negative impact on their life in order to be classified as such. So unless its harming the person in their day to day life, no.

Steyr AUG wrote:

mudogramx wrote:

I know many of you on the board are religious.  This is not intended as an insult to anyone who is, although it could easily be interpreted that way.  If so, thats not my intention.  This is a serious question.  Could religion be classified as a mental illness?  By mental illness I mean the literal interpretation of what a mental illness is defined to be.  Not mental illness in like zomg im crazy and I'm going to kill some people mental illness.  I'm looking at it from a cultural standpoint, in the sense of how we define mental illness.  Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way.  Discuss!

If you flip through a copy of the DSM-IV you will note many disorders/illness require the person to suffer a significant negative impact on their life in order to be classified as such. So unless its harming the person in their day to day life, no.

If you go by the DSM-IV, then obviously religious people are not mentally ill because religion isnt listed.

REligion is all about control. A small group controling the rest of the population with promises of punishment and reward. If you're easily, mmmm, persuaded, it could make you crazy.

When does delusion hurt people, and who gets to decide something so subjective?

It all depends on whose religion you're talking about.

mahakali wrote:

dreamkast0r wrote:

When does delusion hurt people, and who gets to decide something so subjective?

I use basic human rights and physical safety/wellness as a measurement.

Ok, what is 'wellness' and who decides what level of wellness is acceptable?

Talking to God is prayer. Getting an answer is psychosis.

paraphrase of someone on "Real Time" on HBO

i think like anything, people can become obsessive to the point of it verging on a mental illness.

are some obsessively religious people wackjobs?....obviously

are all religious people mentally ill?....hardly.

*shrug*

I don't think most religious people could be classified as mentally ill, but probably a lot of the most vocal ones, as well as many politicians. These people dogmatically stick to and advocate views with no rational basis, which does maybe seem like some type of OCD>

Having fantasies is completely normal.

I suppose the OP is speaking about Richard Dawkin's use of delusion to describe religious thought:

Richard Dawkins wrote:

The word 'delusion' in my title has disquieted some psychiatrists
who regard it as a technical term, not to be bandied about. Three
of them wrote to me to propose a special technical term for
religious delusion: 'relusion'. Maybe it'll catch on.

...The Penguin English Dictionary defines a delusion as 'a false belief
or impression'....The dictionary supplied with Microsoft Word defines a
delusion as 'a persistent false belief held in the face of strong
contradictory evidence, especially as a symptom of psychiatric disorder'.
The first part captures religious faith perfectly. As to
whether it is a symptom of a psychiatric disorder, I am inclined to
follow Robert M. Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance, when he said, 'When one person suffers from a
delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from
a delusion it is called Religion.'

Alien wrote:

StaticAge wrote:

DukeofNuke wrote:

REligion is all about control. A small group controling the rest of the population with promises of punishment and reward. If you're easily, mmmm, persuaded, it could make you crazy.

Wholly disagree. By that same definition, people who dutifully obey the laws of their country's government would be crazy.

I would consider people who obey laws without question crazy, indeed.

,xtG
.tsooJ

I didnt say "without question," just simply obey. The definition still holds.