Can you give me 5 ways religion differs from mental illness?

Answer 1

You choose religion.
Religion has laws.
Religion is organized.
You can give it up if you don't like it.
You don't need faith to have a mental illness.

Answer 2

I laughed when I saw this question. I am personally not a big fan of any organized religion that I have encountered, but I enjoy spirited debates on the subject.

If you were to limit the question to Christianity, and then a denomination, say, Catholic, I would say that such blind faith is an indicator of, if not mental illness, then at least mental weakness.

Another person said that you can give up your faith if you don't like it. If you don't like your faith and can give it up so freely, you never had it to begin with, so that excuse doesn't work. You get to choose your religion? Yes, to an extent. To truly have the ability to freely choose, you must have been free to explore other faiths in depth. Many people are born into a family, are brought up in their family's religion and never question it or explore other possibilities.

I can't in good conscience come up with ways that religion differs from mental illness because I could spend all day refuting those points and end up proving that devotion to religion is indeed a mental illness, or that mental illness is a prerequisite for religious devotion.

Thanks for asking the question, I had fun thinking about it.

Answer 3

1) Religion is ultimately a choice. Clinical mental illness is not a chosen condition. Even though you can do things that make both compulsive.

2) It's still not socially acceptable to view religion as a problem somebody might have.

3) The majority of people who have a religion do not have the same conditions as people with mental illness (albeit the very LOUD religious people do)

4) No historian has pointed out a war that was waged in the name of "mental illness"

5) Psycho wards don't hold Bingo fund-raisers.

Answer 4

religious people see a pastor to try to add to their faith but mentally ill people see a psychiatrist to try to get rid of their mental illness.

some religions operate under the assumption of doing good for others in society but some mentally ill people operate under the assumption of hurting themselves or others. (definitely needed to say SOME on both categories for that one!)

religion can be categorized by a book and applied in the same way to many people, but mental illness is usually deeply personal and can switch from day to day for that very person--religion is a little more consistent.

while both a mentally ill and a religious person might both be able to point to a specific event or time when they discovered their "realities," the religious person probably looks back at it with a type of joy or positive view, but the mentally ill person will probably remember it as a really horrible event or realization.

people are not so rabid about disproving someone's mental illness as they are about disproving someone's religion. for some reason we don't feel threatened by a guy who genuinely thinks he is Darth Vader, but there is a pretty good size group of people who are deeply bothered that someone says they follow Buddah, Jesus, zen, etc.

good question, super thought provoker.

Answer 5

I really had to think about this one.
The answer is: "Sorry, No I can not."

Tube Root again fails to give the full definition from his source which includes irrational belief in supernatural causes of common events.

Post the full definition Tuber, not just the three lines of it that you can twist into supporting your position.

Here you go Tuber, the full thing.
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re•li•gion

Pronunciation: (ri-lij'un), [key]
—n.
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
6. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.
7. religions, Archaic.religious rites.
8. Archaic.strict faithfulness; devotion: a religion to one's vow.
9. get religion, Informal.
a. to acquire a deep conviction of the validity of religious beliefs and practices.
b. to resolve to mend one's errant ways: The company got religion and stopped making dangerous products.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc.,
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Nope, Really, I was thinking there might be some slight difference but Tuberoot reminded me that the religious and the insane are identical.

Gee a thumb down. Guess what? Tube Root is doing exactly what the Creationists and fundamentalists do. It is extrem,ely dishonest and shoes a total lack of respect for whoever they are talking to. Lies are lies.

Answer 6

I sat for a long time after thinking of similarities between mental illness and religion from your last question and have yet to figure out one difference. Sure it could be the fact I was thinking about similaraties but I really could not think of one.

Answer 7

1-Mental illness can be dettected in the brain.
2-religion is thought mental illness inherited.
3-religion is a group activity mental illness is more loner.
thats all I got

Answer 8

Sure:
1) Denial of anyones testimony concerning something they have no experience with - Like Atheism.
2) Procrastination concerning the scholarly gathering of both sides of the issue- like Atheism.
3) Making ignorance proof- like what Atheists do.
4) Claiming knowledge that there is no God - like Atheists do.
5) Spending alot of time discussing something that they don't believe in- like Atheists do.

Yup, sounds pretty insane.

And the denial that Atheism, as it is portrayed on sites such as this, is NOT a religion, when even the dictionary shows clearly that it is!
Religion
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects:
5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith. (As in having faith that there is no God.)
6. something one believes in and follows devotedly
8. Archaic. strict faithfulness; devotion

Answer 9

You get drugs for a mental illness?

Answer 10

Mental illness generally reduces one's grasp of reality, while religion heightens and expands one's grasp of reality, and enables a person to access elements of reality that cannot be accessed any other way, including of course the ultimate reality, God, without Whom no-one is really living in reality at all.

Answer 11

1) Most people on this planet can spell the word "God" in hundreds of languages.
2) Religious institutions can be found in every country and they have been there for thousands of years.
3) We Christians go to work at 9am and come back home at 6pm. Thanks.