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

[joobz]

Why?

Wouldn't that make it really easy to discover "universal truth"? Whatever makes people happiest for the longest must be true.

If you universal truth too much, you could go blind.

 

[Crossbow]

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 think that you are right! But not for the reason you provide.

I expect that more people are taking mental illness seriously by seeing medical professionals about the problem and getting actual treatment for the problem.

Which is much more effective approach than seeing some religious leader who will give them some dumb paltitude, tell then to fast, tell them to pray, or even try to exorcise the demon within them, because none of these remedies will actually address the problem that the person has.

 

[six7s]

the numbers haven't increased, the ability to detect the disorders has

I agree that this is almost certainly the case

along with the ability to detect mental disorders also comes an ability to treat them

I disagree... sorta... I suspect that the ability to detect mental disorders is merely the first step towards treatment... knowing THAT there is a problem does not mean we know WHAT the problem is, let alone HOW to devise/implement a solution

 

[X]

Too easy.


Lots of words, DOC. But you said very little.

I do give the creationwiki credit. They did use the words "assert" and "promise to", rather than "is" and "does".
But the whole freeing people from sin and spiritual death and deception? Nonsense.

Sin and spiritual death are religious inventions. Religions can hardly claim credit for alleviating things they conjure up in the first place. And deception? It's been fairly well established that being religious is no prophylactic against being dishonest.
You're a prime example of that.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Also it is logical to conclude that the closer you are to universal truth the happier or more fulfilled you will be over the long term.

Why is this a logical conclusion, DOC?

 

[Tatyana]

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.

From your own source material:

Mental illnesses including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5111202/

 

[Dancing David]

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.

Um, what were the rates of mental illness prior to alleged secularism?

How do you know what they are?

 

[Dancing David]

Also it is logical to conclude that the closer you are to universal truth the happier or more fulfilled you will be over the long term.

Oh, so you are not aware that mental illness is biological in nature, that is truly a shame. It is biological, impacying and influenced by social systems and psychology.

Are you aware at all what deperssion and the other mental illnesses are like?

I wonder why religiosity is associated with schizophrenia?

 

[MontagK505]

From the article entitled: "Religion”

<snip>
____

Also it is logical to conclude that the closer you are to universal truth the happier or more fulfilled you will be over the long term. This is not to say there aren’t some happy (or at least temporarily happy) atheists out there, but it is possible that they could be even happier if they were closer to the truth (if atheism was not in reality true).
<snip>
.

I think most atheists experience a sense of relief from the constant threats, both here and the hereafter, that are a major feature of fundamentalist religious belief.

 

[Mojo]

Sorry, you seem to have skipped the step where you established that religion was true.

He also didn't address the question of which of all the different "universal truths" is universally true, and how believing in a false "universal truth" might impact on the believer's mental health.

 

[citizenzen]

They [religions] all promise to free adherents from spiritual bondage, and bring them into spiritual freedom.

This could also apply to societies, if a society is in touch with universal laws and truth it would be logical to assume that that society as a whole will be better functioning and its citizens as a whole will have better mental health.

So it would seem to follow that fundamentalist Muslim nations would be among the sanest societies around.

Doest that sound about right to you?

 

[MontagK505]

From the article entitled: "Religion”

“Each religion asserts that it is a means by which its adherents may come into closer contact with God, Truth, and Spiritual Power. They all promise to free adherents from spiritual bondage, and bring them into spiritual freedom. It naturally follows that a religion which frees its adherents from deception, sin, and spiritual death will have significant mental health benefits. Abraham Maslow's research after World War II showed that Holocaust survivors tended to be those who held strong religious beliefs (not necessarily temple attendance, etc), suggesting it helped people cope in extreme circumstances.”
http://creationwiki.org/Religion
____

<snip>.

You can't interview the people that didn't survive. So how would you know that strong religious beliefs had anything to do with surviving?

 

[DOC]

So it would seem to follow that fundamentalist Muslim nations would be among the sanest societies around.

Not to the thousands of people who marched in the streets in Iran last year.

 

[DOC]

You can't interview the people that didn't survive. So how would you know that strong religious beliefs had anything to do with surviving?

Maybe he asked the relatives and friends of those who didn't make it if they were religious or not.

 

[Foster Zygote]

"Mental illnesses including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries."

You're just going to ignore this, yes?

 

[TimCallahan]

"Mental illnesses including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries."

You're just going to ignore this, yes?

Okay, DOC, here's your chance to respond to Foster Zygote and prove him wrong.

 

[Hokulele]

He also didn't address the question of which of all the different "universal truths" is universally true, and how believing in a false "universal truth" might impact on the believer's mental health.

A single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife?

 

[Foster Zygote]

Okay, DOC, here's your chance to respond to Foster Zygote and prove him wrong.

Tatyana was the first to point it out.

 

[joobz]

Maybe he asked the relatives and friends of those who didn't make it if they were religious or not.

Well, that's the most disgusting thought I've seen today.
DOC, did you really just suggest that a person would go to the families of holocaust survivors and ask, "Did your uncle/aunt/mom/dad/son/daughter/wife who died in the concentration camps REALLY believe in god?"

The fact that you would even consider making that argument is simply reprehensible.

 

[citizenzen]

Not to the thousands of people who marched in the streets in Iran last year.

Hmmm ... I don't think you want to use that as your criteria for mental health.

Otherwise, every Tea Party rally would be a sign insanity.

People in America of all stripes march for their causes.

Why not Iran?