dangin

Quick Story Here.

I got this off our awesome News Wire today. It made be wonder if intense religion is a delusion, will they be able to develop antipsychotic medication to cure it?

We've all puzzled about the intelligent religious people we've met. Sure most of the flock is a bunch of mewling sheep, but there are some surprisingly smart people tucked into pews here and there.

Maybe if a smart researcher could correct the deviant brain activity of religious faith with a regular medical treatment, science could finally overcome the horrors of devout religious devotion.

joedad

Nice to see the subject being so openly discussed and potentially examined.

I for one believe that a little religion acts as an inoculation against the full-blown illness, when properly administered. Of course, this will not work in all cases, but it ultimately depends on how one quantifies the religious experience or the religious lifestyle, for purposes of drawing informed conclusions. If the proposed study includes such criteria it will prove interesting indeed.

Charlie

I think that as long as there are humans there will be religion. Humans appear to be the only animal on our planet that have the ability to imagine and believe, the unbelievable. Humans then take their beliefs to heart and turn them into their truths, and then turn these truths into their own reality. Therefore, I don't think there will ever be a remedy to this bizarre prison of the mind, of which many willingly desire to enclose themselves within.
Charlie

Calzaer

Only because your household pets can't tell you, in English, about the god they worship.

Seriously, how on earth could anyone verify that statement? It's absurd.

Charlie

Calzaer,
Good point! It's just like how on earth can anyone verify a god(s)? It's absurd! But you did make me re-think my statement as to why I said it. My meaning goes along with why I am an atheist - because there is no proof of god(s). I am saying that I know of no proof that shows non-human animals to have the ability to imagine! (I will gladly change my view if such proof was presented for both a god, and/or animals having an imagination). Therefore I stand by my statement. Basically I'm saying that if there were no humans then there would be no religion, because religion is all in the minds of humans, it is all man made!

By the way, on another note, are you still a wiccan-in-training?
My mother has also been involved/training in the wiccan ways for several years now. I'm trying to get her on the web. Do you know of any nice wiccan sites she can visit?
Sincerely,
Charlie

winstonjen

I suppose the effectiveness of a pill would depend on whether the person is consciously deceiving him/herself or whether they have convinced themselves it is true and cannot be unconvinced. The second case may need to be dealt with on a subconscious level.

dangin

I don't know, these medications actually work on the brain mechanisms that create the feelings. If there is a brain region where religious experience is focused, there is probably a host of methods to stimulate or sedate it. There might even be medical implants that can be triggered to satiate your cravings for a omniscient parent so you are satisfied and you can get on with the business of living your life.

Mandatory brain surgery seems a small price to pay to rid our society of the overly religious.

SignOfTheCross

If "religious" people, such as myself, are suffering from an intense form of psychological delusion, then I am borderline mentally ill.

If so, then how come I haven't been admitted to a mental hospital?

Peace,
SOTC

Hugo Holbling

I really hope this is supposed to be a joke...

christ-on-a-stick

You're joking, right? Um, because it is a socially sanctioned form of delusional thinking.

*Edit - and also because mental illness or delusional thinking does not necessarily = institutionalization, particularly if the individual is not a danger to themselves or others.