Do you think that religion is an addiction?

Question

I was raised pentecostal and had a very good time of it...however I have come to the conclusion of late that I cannot really believe in any god, one way or another.
At the same time, as I read someone's harsh remarks about christianity etc, I feel compelled to defend like I always have...
Do you think there should be something of an AA for converting christians? Don't laugh, I am serious.
I find it hard to stick to my guns on the issue one way or another without actively debating it with someone who sees things the way I have come to see them.
Do you think that religion is an addiction, like smoking, drinking, drugs etc?
If one decided they do not believe in all of the hoopla anymore, should they seek support the way you would for other addictions?

Okay...26 years of practicing something becomes habit, not addiction...this is what I am getting from some.
I will give you my definition of addiction:
something done repeatedly that you cannot give up without a fight. You feel pain at the rejection of it, and at the same time believe that giving it up is the best thing you can do for yourself....
These are things I experience.
I would say it is an addiction.
What say you?

Answer 1

If you separate "Christianity" from "religion" then yes, I think there can be an addiction to "religion".

"Christianity" is the personal accepting of Christ as your saviour and personally making a commitment to serving the Saviour.

"Religion" is a set of rituals and practices associated with serving a peticular G/god.

There are many people for instance that say they love Roman Catholicism, but if you point out its flaws from Scripture they defend the practices of the RCC. Yet, on the other hand, there are Christians that come to accept Christ as their personal Saviour and give up Roman Catholicism.

Paul, who was once known as Saul in the Bible, grew up a Pharisee, yet, when he came to know Christ as his personal Saviour, he had to give up the practices of being a Pharisee.

I don't see someone giving up Christ as their saviour as seeing that as a good thing. How can someone come to know the truth and then turn from it? Perhaps they can give up a set of practices, like Catholicism, but I don't know how someone can give up their Saviour if they truly know Him personally. It would be like someone drowning grabbing hold of and putting on a life preserver, then finding it uncomfortable, so they take it off and go back to drowning!

Answer 2

Ironically, AA is a religious thing. The twelve steps are basically summed up as "admit you're worthless and surrender yourself to God, 'cause you can't do a damned thing to help yourself without him."

I think you're probably just experiencing a force of habit, not addiction per se. If you were "addicted," you sure wouldn't be atheist today.

Is religion an addiction? Not by definition. Can people be addicted to religion? Absolutely! And many religions actually ENCOURAGE people to, like with AA, surrender themselves and their wills completely to the collective will of the church. It's all cult mentality in most any organized religion, when you look at it, some are just more glorified and have better PR than others.

Answer 3

I am very happy with the explanation that you have given to your question. You seem to be serious.

Well, there are two kinds of religions. The first that we actually follow, is the physical religion, which caters to our body/mind needs. This religion we practice because we love our parents, and follow what they say. It is they who have brought us to this world in physical form and it is but natural that we feel indebted to them for this.

But the question that naturally will follow is, what if we were not born? Why listen to the parents, when all they did was for the sensual pleasure they derived, in the conjugal relationship. They actually never meant bringing us into this world.

So there indeed is something else to this life. As if I was there already, and have got incarnated in this human body form.

You are right in thinking the way you are, and that ' I ' is the soul which is in hiding in our body. So we need to follow the soul's religion, which once we are on, will actually be an addiction.

The physical religions that we follow can not give satisfaction to us. We will always be missing something in our lives, when we don't follow the spiritual religion. And it has to be done by us for ourselves only. It has nothing to do with our community. The community thing can remain a pastime, but reality should be understood. It is in our own interests.

Answer 4

Lots of people have a religious addiction but some don't. It usually happens when someone has left some other addiction alone without the proper processing of the reason for the addiction in the first place. Some people can drink without being alcoholics, some people can smoke crack without becoming totally dependent, some people can gamble without losing all their money. Some can't.

Answer 5

Hmmm, I never thought of it as an addiction. I 'converted' to Pentacostal, and enjoyed it very much---but I became disillusioned with the pastor and left. I am still a christian and I defend christianity still. I don't feel addicted to religion. I also thought that there was only one God even if the other religions had different names for him. I think that trying to find a support group would be a great idea for you!

Answer 6

It can be, but real Christianity is not an addiction it is a lifestyle of commital towards God, not the church or even other people, however once you get right with God church ad other people seem to easier to deal with. Some use religion like a drug expecially in the pentacostal church. Some feel that unless you speak in tongues you are not saved or are not a real Christian, , ,this is bad theology. Remember what Paul said "if I speak with tongue of angels but don't have love what good is that" (paraphrased). Love and forgiveness is never a drug but rather the way God wants us to be to lvie a happy life until we go to see Him. Sounds like you are searching. If you would like to contact me to discuss this further go to [e-mail]

Answer 7

Yes.

Addicts who 'find god' thru 12 step programs are only trading one addiction for another.

It is a proven fact that the endorphines which provide the euphoric feelings that follow fervent prayer, are the same as the ones released by eating choclate, having sex, or doing heroin.

EDIT: I'm going to argue the point directly below mine. Addiction is NOT a disease...it is a choice. There is no 'addiction' virus, or bacteria. There is no evidence of a genetic defect to cause addiction. Faith is also a choice. You must teach the concept of faith, it is not inherent or natural.

Answer 8

I think that anything that a person relies upon to make themselves feel good can become at least a psychological addiction. However, the word 'addiction' seems to be greatly misused a lot--equating religious zealotry with being physically hooked on heroin is quite a stretch...

Answer 9

I think your question stumbles onto something that in sociology we call 'theory of Memes'.
The belief that all religions are parasites of the mind.
This particular theory has been gaining some ground among anthropologists and other critics of belief systems.
You mentioned that you felt 'compelled' to defend it, and that you see some parts of it reflect that addictive quality. This falls in line with the general theory.
It states that Memes perform two types of actions:
(1) Take control of their victims' minds.
(2) Encourage their victims to spread the meme to others.
Meme theory accurately predicts and explains the behavior of the more intolerant and aggressive cults.
As mentioned before, among many anthropologists, sociologists and philosophers, it has recently become fashionable to dismiss all religions as memes - parasitic mental processes which propagate in the same manner as chain letters.
In this view, religious belief is a self-perpetuating delusion.
A meme may be defined as any self-referential belief system which contains within itself the instructions for its own propagation. Memes are often described as the cultural equivalents of computer viruses.
A meme carries exactly the same psychological motivation as a chain letter - "If you propagate me then something nice will happen, if not then something horrible will happen". In order to justify themselves against attack by reason, memes place absolute reliance on faith, which is seen as being superior to reason. They also contain self-referential or circular claims to the truth such as "This meme says it is the divine truth. Since it is the divine truth whatever its says must be true. Therefore it must be divine truth because it says so and all competing memes must be the work of the devil".
These two types of self-referential statement "propagate me" and "I am the only truth" provide the driving force for memes to invade the minds of their hosts. In addition, many memes contain the instructions "Help people who believe in this meme, attack people who do not". These commands being the ultimate cause of all religious wars throughout the centuries. The general defining features of all memes can thus be seen to be self-referential 'closed-loop' type of circular statements, and a strong tendency towards intolerance.

Answer 10

Yes. It's like the fig leaves Adam and Eve sewed together to cover their nakedness, which was gratifying to their fleshly needs and seemed a rationally good thing to do at the time. But to God those fig leaves were transparent and insignificant. A futile attempt by man to please God and achieve atonement.

Use this rule...if it's pleasing to the flesh it's not pleasing to God . God is a Spirit.