Is religious belief which is seen as exclusively right a category of mental disorder?

Question

In my former questions some people pretended that their religion is the only right one and that all others are wrong, which means that even those who have no chance to get in contact with it are condemned.

I wonder if there is a psychological explanation to this, and whether somebody can indicate me professional literature on the subject. Thanx.

oh, I forgot: please no riddles from the bible. thanx

to julia: i do not suggest that "religious belief might be a mental disorder".

i suggest that those people who think that for instance a taoist chinese is a sinner and going to hell because he is not a christian and baptized, well that they might suffer from some kind of mental disease, like paranoia or schizophrenia, or that they may have suffered child abuse or something, i don't know.

i actually believe that only very few people think this way... i hope so

Answer 1

No, it's just an example of arrogance when someone believes that they're way is the ONLY right way.

Also, (this is a quick answer for something that's really complicated) but younger souls often grasp onto one idea and believe that is the ONLY way it can be...but older more advanced souls realize that other ways are also good, as well as possible. They learn that you can embrace a lot of different ideas and that they can all work together in harmony.
Look it up...I'm sure someone else could explain it alot better than I just did.

Answer 2

First of all, religious belief was/is classified as a mental disorder in places like the former Soviet Union, communist China, North Korea, and so on.

So just know who you may be inadvertently getting into bed with, when you suggest that religious belief might be a mental disorder.

That's what some of the most brutal and ruthless political systems on earth have believed.

As for the "rightness" of my religion vs. the "wrongness" of other religions:

Although I'm Catholic, I believe that there is some truth to other religions as well. At least to the extent that they mirror Catholicism.

Answer 3

It is a really simple premise.

A man or a woman picks a religion that they believe is the correct one. How that decision is made may be nothing more than, my family has been attending this church for three generations, to an actual experience that revealed, at least to them, that their religion is the right one and all others are wrong.

I mean stop and think about it, what kind of a person would chose a religion he/she didn't believe in?

Answer 4

Dear friend,
I am happy that You have questions like this. It will help You to analize many things in your future. I am Belgian of origin and now living in Mexico where almost daily I am confronted with religion and superstition that go side by side. I wrote a little book in Spanish called "entrevista con un extraterrestre". It has absolutely nothing to do with E.T.´s or other strange things. It is an anti religious book, but in favor of that big source of live that lives within us, and that You can call whatever You like.
Religion is a power form to be able to control groups of people. Some of them make it a source of income. Others make people blind in their decisions and have the possibility to manipulate them in whatever they want. Up to the level of religious war etc...
You want more information? Come with your answers and I will try to help You. I am not a religion and I am not looking for financial rewardings. That would make me a bad person, which I am not! Hear from You! Lou

Answer 5

With something like 3000 religions in the world, [ not my figure, check for accuracy ] it is difficult to understand how someone might be able to disregard all the rest and be so sure that theirs is the one and only.. but to answer your question in my opinion, it is not a mental disorder - - When manifest to degrade others and their beliefs, [most probably due to insecurities] I would more call it a social disorder.. an inability to respect that others have differing views - it is quite apparently a learned behavior.. and in the scope of things, so odd, that it would have to be taught - not inherent..

Answer 6

I wouldn't refer to religious belief as a mental disorder ... but there are definitely some individuals within these religious groups who do exhibit mental disorders.

Unfortunately, while the masses tend to be more moderate, the voices we hear most often are from those in extreme positions ... and so we might be led to believe the type of extremist thinking and practice by these minorities is representative of the group as a whole.

Answer 7

I do not believe religion is a catagory of mental disorder
although prople can take parts of religon and turn it in to what they like

people who believe there is only one way and it is theirway is mistaken

I am a christian and there are lots of diffirent churches and rules If you read the bible as a whole and not just one verse here or a chapter there you will see that Jesus says what may be right for one is not allways right for another
do what is right for you

Answer 8

true religion is a result of loving truth

"those who worship God must worship in spirit and in truth' Jesus in John 3

Creed
We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin.
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.
We believe in sex before, during and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy's OK.
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything's getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated
And you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in horoscopes,
UFO's and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha,
Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher although we think
His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same -
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of creation,
sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing
Because when you ask the dead what happens
they say nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then it's compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps
Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson.
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors
and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behaviour that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust.
History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth
that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds,
and the flowering of individual thought.

Answer 9

I recommend reading The Selfish Gene. It includes a chapter on what Richard Dawkins calls "memes".

Memes are ways of thinking that replicate themselves, much like mental viruses. The more successful strains replicate more effectively and are more resistant to attempts to eradicate them. There is no "purpose" for them, they are simply parasites taking advantage of the way our minds work.

Religion is one of these. The most successful religions have developed self defnse mechanism. Exclusivity is one of them. The hallmarks of successful religions are:

- a dependence on faith; this undermines the defense mechanism of reason

- exclusivity; this undermines competing memes

- an emphasis on belief itself; this undermines the inherent unwillingness of people to have to really do anything they don't want. All that matters is that the virus is spread.

- an emphasis on submission to authority; undermines the rebellious nature of men

- a symbiotic relationship with political memes; allows dissenters to be silenced by force, and allows the meme to be spread by force rather than just persuasion

- promised rewards and punishments that can not be verified and a cadre of other emotional appeals and falatious arguments

Answer 10

Because religion provides fast answers to a vast confusing world... for some people to challenge that would be a big hit to their mental state as many cling to those fast answers like a security blanket and become like children when faced with the premise that what they believe may not be entirely true.... I wish I had a source but its just personal observation.