It is true that the studies cited in my previous post sample from church attendees. They do not attempt to correlate mental health with specific beliefs or practices within those groups. If I recall they did not notice significant differences between various faith traditions. One can only speculate but I think it is a stretch to say that only community involvement and social identity explain the benefits of religious affiliation. That would put religions in an overly wide (and therefore meaningless) category that includes things such as political parties, bridge clubs and live action role-playing groups.
In addition to the comfort an encouragement faith provides, there is also the possibility of gratitude. In moments of quiet contemplation a believer can direct his or her feelings of gratitude toward a transcendent Other. Non-believers can feel appreciation, enjoyment, and satisfaction for what they have but not true gratitude. Gratitude, by definition, requires someone to whom we feel grateful. I do not doubt that non-believers can feel gratitude for the generosity of friends and family, perhaps even the affection of animals. While those are important they occur at a different scale and would not be available to the dispossessed. Does the mental health benefit of gratitude differ appreciably from basic appreciation? I don’t know but it is one more thing available to believers that is not available to non-believers.
I have spoken often before about the absence of meaning and purpose entailed by atheism and received a great deal of push-back, some deservedly so, since I often overstate the case. A non-believer can feel proximate meaning and find a local sense of purpose in things such as their work, community, and family. Perhaps that is enough for some. I wish you well. At the same time atheism precludes any possibility of ultimate purpose or significance – “All we are is dust in the wind” etc. etc. A secular sense of purpose is tied to having some external legacy or achievement to show for your life whereas a believer feels assured that their life matters, somehow, even if they left no lasting legacy (and for most folks what legacy truly lasts for very long). For Christians at least, they can feel significant not because of anything they did but because they know that by His Grace alone God loves them. One line from a hymn simply expresses this notion and goes “Nothing in my hand I bring / only to the Cross I cling.”
As for those who say they would feel like they were living a lie, I want to at least commend you on your intellectual honesty.
In addition to the comfort an encouragement faith provides, there is also the possibility of gratitude. In moments of quiet contemplation a believer can direct his or her feelings of gratitude toward a transcendent Other. Non-believers can feel appreciation, enjoyment, and satisfaction for what they have but not true gratitude. Gratitude, by definition, requires someone to whom we feel grateful. I do not doubt that non-believers can feel gratitude for the generosity of friends and family, perhaps even the affection of animals. While those are important they occur at a different scale and would not be available to the dispossessed. Does the mental health benefit of gratitude differ appreciably from basic appreciation? I don’t know but it is one more thing available to believers that is not available to non-believers.
I have spoken often before about the absence of meaning and purpose entailed by atheism and received a great deal of push-back, some deservedly so, since I often overstate the case. A non-believer can feel proximate meaning and find a local sense of purpose in things such as their work, community, and family. Perhaps that is enough for some. I wish you well. At the same time atheism precludes any possibility of ultimate purpose or significance – “All we are is dust in the wind” etc. etc. A secular sense of purpose is tied to having some external legacy or achievement to show for your life whereas a believer feels assured that their life matters, somehow, even if they left no lasting legacy (and for most folks what legacy truly lasts for very long). For Christians at least, they can feel significant not because of anything they did but because they know that by His Grace alone God loves them. One line from a hymn simply expresses this notion and goes “Nothing in my hand I bring / only to the Cross I cling.”
As for those who say they would feel like they were living a lie, I want to at least commend you on your intellectual honesty.
