Could the very high rate of mental illness in Europe be related to religion decline?

[DOC]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/#.Tma_hI672_I

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

 

[MG1962]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/#.Tma_hI672_I

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

Of course no evidence or argument to back your statement **fail**

 

[alfaniner]

no.

 

[Marduk]

Yes, you have a point, as we have moved away from religious belief and moved towards secularism, the quality of care in medicine has improved and as a result the ability of doctors to diagnose mental illnesses has increased.

the numbers haven't increased, the ability to detect the disorders has
along with the ability to detect mental disorders also comes an ability to treat them, so don't worry Doc, whereas before your church would have tortured you or burned you alive or imprisoned or hanged you as a cure, thesedays you are much less likely to suffer now that the church isn't calling the shots

 

[not_so_new]

Well, according to this....

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health...ill-suffer-from-mental-health-woes/50250702/1

... the heathen Europeans might be fairing a little better than your "Christian Nation" Doc.

 

[Cainkane1]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/#.Tma_hI672_I

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

That can't be it. If anything i may be due to the influx of muslim immigrants flooding ito their countries. In my opinion the biggest lunatics are fundys who have to be nuts to believe their tripe.

 

[not daSkeptic]

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

If you mean that events which in the past would have been labeled religious experiences are now being labeled mental disorders, then I could see that as a possibility. But do you have any evidence to suggest this is actually what is happening?

 

[Leif Roar]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

On the up side, though, the figures for demonic possession is at an all time low.

 

[12AX7]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/#.Tma_hI672_I

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

You need to brush up on your causation/correlation understanding.

There is a correlation between increased instances of drowning and ice cream consumption, but that does not mean one causes the other.

Fail.

 

[BStrong]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/#.Tma_hI672_I

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

Hmmmm, No.

 

[Mudcat]

Yes, you have a point, as we have moved away from religious belief and moved towards secularism, the quality of care in medicine has improved and as a result the ability of doctors to diagnose mental illnesses has increased.

the numbers haven't increased, the ability to detect the disorders has
along with the ability to detect mental disorders also comes an ability to treat them, so don't worry Doc, whereas before your church would have tortured you or burned you alive or imprisoned or hanged you as a cure, thesedays you are much less likely to suffer now that the church isn't calling the shots

This, unreservedly.

DOC when will you understand that we live in the best times of human history? When will you understand that the advances in technology and education that allows us to better understand, detect, and prepare against disasters, disease, and deprivation? When you realize that humans are in the best position to stop human suffering? When you realize that religion and God has nothing to do with anything you say?

 

[joobz]

Step 1: High rate of mental illness
Step 2: ????
Step 3: Profit!

 

[dafydd]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/#.Tma_hI672_I

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

I live in Belgium Doc,which is a much saner place than the USA. We sometimes look on with bemusement at what goes on over there. There is no Bible Belt here and we all know the Bible Belt is a byword for insanity. We have no rabid TV evangelists. I think I have proved my point.

 

[RandFan]

Society Without God

Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment

 

[Roadtoad]

Try this: Perhaps the rise in the diagnosis of mental illness is due to the increasing sophistication and utilization of improved methodologies which allow us to recognize these disorders at an early stage, as well as a decline in the opprobrium faced by those with said disorders, which would seem to coincide with a decline in religious participation.

Which of the two statements -- yours and mine -- would be more reflective both the facts and the truth?

 

[Tricky]

Try this: Perhaps the rise in the diagnosis of mental illness is due to the increasing sophistication and utilization of improved methodologies which allow us to recognize these disorders at an early stage, as well as a decline in the opprobrium faced by those with said disorders, which would seem to coincide with a decline in religious participation.

Which of the two statements -- yours and mine -- would be more reflective both the facts and the truth?

Exactly. It's the notorious "more cops on the block" effect. When you put more cops on the block, crime goes up. Why? Because more crime is discovered.

When you have a community with a lot of mental health professionals, reported incidences of mental illness go up, not because more people have it, but because more of it is reported. Europe should be glad that they're recognizing more of the mental illnesses that have been swept under the carpet for so long. Like excessive religiosity.

 

[Lowpro]

I heard that global warming was attributed to a decrease in pirates

 

[Giordano]

DOC,

Once you define many of those with severe delusional illnesses as "religious" you significantly decrease those remaining in the category "mentally ill."

 

[Akhenaten]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/#.Tma_hI672_I

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

I note that the people who actually did the study made no mention of such a connection.

Where can I find the results of the study you undertook (or at least referred to) that helped you to formulate your hypothesis?

I also note from your link that:

A direct comparison of the prevalence of mental illnesses in other parts of the world was not available because different studies adopt varying parameters.

Did your study reveal that increasing religiosity in, say, the United States has led to a commensurate decrease in mental ilness?

 

[Akhenaten]

DOC,

Once you define many of those with severe delusional illnesses as "religious" you significantly decrease those remaining in the category "mentally ill."

Spot on.

A delusion is defined as a false personal belief based on incorrect inference about external reality and firmly sustained despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary.