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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 10, 2015 at 3:58 pm
(This post was last modified: May 10, 2015 at 4:02 pm by Angrboda.)
(May 10, 2015 at 1:17 pm)Pyrrho Wrote: (May 9, 2015 at 6:24 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote: With all due respect, I don't think you know what you're talking about. Name three diagnoses that fit the pattern you are claiming.
The very definition of "mental illness" ties it to social norms:
Quote: A mental disorder, also called a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a mental or behavioral pattern or anomaly that causes either suffering or an impaired ability to function in ordinary life (disability), and which is not a developmental or social norm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_disorder
"Impaired ability to function in ordinary life" means that one has a problem with dealing with the society in which one lives. No it does not mean that. Impaired function means exactly what it says: an inability to do some or all of the basic tasks associated with work, school, or home life. It does not mean simply having trouble getting along. There are people who have trouble dealing with the society they are living in, that does not mean that they are functionally impaired and have a mental illness. A schizophrenic who can't hold a simple conversation with another person is impaired; not just a person who rubs others the wrong way.
(May 10, 2015 at 1:17 pm)Pyrrho Wrote: And what will be incompatible with ordinary functioning in a society is largely a matter of the society in which one lives. No it isn't. It is largely a matter of what the basic minimum tasks for those life spheres are and whether they can perform them or not. It isn't at all like what you describe.
(May 10, 2015 at 1:17 pm)Pyrrho Wrote: As for the claim that religion would be a mental illness if it were not socially accepted, think about someone claiming to have an invisible friend, with magically abilities, who was a guide to the person's life, affecting their social interactions with others, with seemingly arbitrary prohibitions and arbitrary required conduct. If that were not common and a social norm, it would be fucking crazy.
No, that would be considered unusual, not "fucking crazy." People aren't diagnosed for being 'different'. I think you are simply mistaken. I get the impression that you've read about mental illness but don't have much experience with actual clinical practice. Is that accurate?
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 10, 2015 at 5:28 pm
Exactly. I am a suicidal depressive, but nobody would guess purely from looking at me or even interacting with me. It's an invisible illness.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 10, 2015 at 6:04 pm
LOL, when I went through my rough spot my issues made me -more- proficient at my job, and much more socially acceptable to my peers. Extenuating circumstances...of course, but I thought I'd toss it out there for a bit of levity.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 10, 2015 at 7:52 pm
(This post was last modified: May 10, 2015 at 7:57 pm by AFTT47.)
I'm going to butt in here with the practical reason why you shouldn't call religious belief a mental illness: The majority of people (at least in the USA) have religious beliefs. They have more voting power than we do. If you call them insane, you will just piss them off. That's important because if we want to be accepted, if we want atheists to be viable candidates for public office, we can't be making blanket statements like this - even if it's true.
How far would blacks have gotten in the civil rights movement if they dissed all non-blacks? How far would the homosexuals have gotten if they dissed all straights?
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 10, 2015 at 9:48 pm
(May 10, 2015 at 7:52 pm)AFTT47 Wrote: I'm going to butt in here with the practical reason why you shouldn't call religious belief a mental illness: The majority of people (at least in the USA) have religious beliefs. They have more voting power than we do. If you call them insane, you will just piss them off. That's important because if we want to be accepted, if we want atheists to be viable candidates for public office, we can't be making blanket statements like this - even if it's true.
I would like to see the demographics of religion in the US and other countries. I think that secularism is on the rise everywhere.
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 10, 2015 at 9:53 pm
(This post was last modified: May 10, 2015 at 9:55 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
-or reporting to that effect is on the rise.
You'll find some (extremely cynical) secular philosophy in hinduism (6th century...BC). I doubt that the "philosophers" were the only people thinking that it was a bad idea for government and religion to be wrapped around each other like a twizzler - even back then.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 10, 2015 at 9:59 pm
(This post was last modified: May 10, 2015 at 10:00 pm by robvalue.)
I hope people knowing what secularism means is on the rise too!
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 10, 2015 at 10:06 pm
(May 10, 2015 at 9:48 pm)mbk734 Wrote: (May 10, 2015 at 7:52 pm)AFTT47 Wrote: I'm going to butt in here with the practical reason why you shouldn't call religious belief a mental illness: The majority of people (at least in the USA) have religious beliefs. They have more voting power than we do. If you call them insane, you will just piss them off. That's important because if we want to be accepted, if we want atheists to be viable candidates for public office, we can't be making blanket statements like this - even if it's true.
I would like to see the demographics of religion in the US and other countries. I think that secularism is on the rise everywhere.
It is indeed. Polls in the US indicate a slow but sure increase in secularism and a corresponding drop in Christianity. That's good news. Christians still rule in this country, though and we need to act accordingly. Failure to do so would be denying reality - the same thing we accuse Christians of doing.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 11, 2015 at 1:44 am
I am not calling them insane.
But the reality is that they are mentally unstable to a particular degree, especially since they are believing in something with no evidence to substantiate it. It takes a particular degree of absence from reality to cling to a belief system that has a clear association with fiction.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter
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RE: Religion is a Delusion/Mental Illness
May 11, 2015 at 2:22 am
(This post was last modified: May 11, 2015 at 2:23 am by ignoramus.)
(May 10, 2015 at 5:28 pm)Stimbo Wrote: Exactly. I am a suicidal depressive, but nobody would guess purely from looking at me or even interacting with me. It's an invisible illness.
Stimbo, ISOL rang, they want you to call them back ...urgently...something about good men are hard to find.
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
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