When is a Religious Belief Delusional?

[CapnAwesome]

I don't really use that term that much myself, because it does tend to be associated with mental illness. I don't think that most Theists are mentally ill or that their beliefs are the equivalent to mental illness except in the most extreme cases.

That being said, if you get real technical about it, all supernatural belief is delusional. You are literally deluding yourself about the natural world to one degree or another.

I'd probably use softer language myself and simply say that they were wrong about the natural world. I can't know the motives of every atheist who uses the word deluded, but I'd imagine that it's either used to piss off Theists with strong language or used simply because it's in the Atheist sphere of thought as something to say about the is.

I mean, if you use it in a strict sense as basically synonym for being wrong, we are all deluded about something.