OPEN DEBATE: Religion effects on health

[Smaug]

It's the one thing I really admire about religion and the only reason I'd consider going back.

Do you mean going back as in accepting said religious views once again? I wonder if someone who consciously de-converted could ever do so. Even if you go back it probably wouldn't make you happier because after you've managed to consciously analyze and rejected the dogma you could not completely honestly accept it once again (without some very major and externally-forced changes to your worldview and/or psychic state). So you'll have to constantly be a hypocrite to yourself on a major scale which may not be good for your mood at all. You could also go back without accepting religious views, effectively mimic conduct expected by the community and acheive some of the social advantages but it doesn't guarantee to make you happier. Because if we speak of one's personal psychic state they have to honestly believe in their religion to make some good out of it (just like for a placebo to take effect a patient has to believe that he's taking the real pill).

[MechViking]

Yeah I couldn't become a christian again, but if I had friends who went to church I'd be very comfortable with attending with them. Lots of interesting and intelligent people are religious, and I can stomach the ridiculous stories since I grew up with them. Thinking about this makes me miss youth group.

[Smaug]

Well, maybe that fits your particular case but in general there could be more complex patterns of expected behaviour imposed by the Church than just passively attending services.

[Minimalist]

Oh grow up Min, you're using the example of a subset of religious extremists that doesn't provide any appreciable evidence that religious attendance is not a determinant of health.

Stop it, Danny. Because when your former xtian fuckwit pals had the opportunity they were every bit as big a bunch of scumbags as modern muslims.

Never forget the words of Steven Weinberg:

Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.

[Aractus]

Are you arguing that being dead isn't an adverse health condition? Or are you just dismissing facts that don't support your conclusion?

"My conclusion"? I'm simply quoting from the experts (well a government literature review which itself examined the evidence provided by experts).

Do you have opposing literature you wish to post?

---

Stop it, Danny. Because when your former xtian fuckwit pals had the opportunity they were every bit as big a bunch of scumbags as modern muslims.

So what? I'm not talking about whether religion was or wasn't a determinant of health in ancient times.

And in any case, of course there'll be exceptions. Scientology for instance is most certainly NOT going to be good for mental health at all since they oppose psychology. JW's oppose modern medicine, and this can also lead to serious health issues, so even if it provides a benefit it also provides a detriment.

[Minimalist]

Ancient times?

The Thirty Years War is not generally considered 'antiquity'.

Neither is the Holocaust. Both brought to us by fine xtians

[FreeTony]

As I mentioned in another thread recently: religious attendance is identified as a determinant of health, well-being and happiness, and the information above of course confirms this.

So to the rest of the atheists on this forum: we may be right, but we're going to live shorter lives, suffer more mental illnesses and be more unhappy.

I think it's actually more to do with the culture/society one is in, and how it relates to the predominant religion in that culture. If one is an open Atheist in a place where the religious are taught to despise Atheists, this will probably make them unhappy.

Social interaction is beneficial to health and happiness. If being a religious person in your culture is more likely to result in a greater level of social interaction then chances are you may be happier.

There is a whole load of info on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_happiness

[Bad Wolf]

Being religious isn't detrimental to your health. It's being in the wrong religion that is!

[Aractus]

I find it interesting not a single theist has posted in this thread.

As I mentioned, I care about truth. I don't give a shit, Min, about isolated examples that may or may not be valid (the Holocaust is not one such "valid" example). The Israel/Palestine conflict is a clear example of the harm that can be done.

The fact is, like or not, that religious attendance is a positive determinant of health.

[The Grand Nudger]

Frodo doesn't count? He weighed in. Club membership good, social isolation bad. We've long known that the beliefs of the community (or even another community) can affect the health of the individual.