Formidable1:
American Psychological Association To Classify Belief in God As a Mental Illness
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According to the American Psychological Association (APA), a strong and passionate belief in a deity or higher power, to the point where it impairs one’s ability to make conscientious decisions about common sense matters, will now be classified as a mental illness.

The controversial ruling comes after a 5-year study by the APA showed devoutly religious people often suffered from anxiety, emotional distress, hallucinations, and paranoia. The study stated that those who perceived God as punitive was directly related to their poorer health, while those who viewed God as benevolent did not suffer as many mental problems. The religious views of both groups often resulted in them being disconnected from reality.

Dr. Lillian Andrews, professor of psychology, stated, “Every year thousands of people die after refusing life-saving treatment on religious grounds. Even when being told ‘you will die without this treatment’ patients reject the idea and believe that their God will still save them. Those lives could be saved simply by classifying those people as mentally unfit for decision making.”

“Jehovah Witnesses for instance,” Dr. Andrews continued, “will not accept blood under any circumstance. They would rather die than to receive life-saving donor blood. Many religious people believe they have “healing power” in their hands. Many believe they can communicate with God using a personal language, which is unknown to anyone but the communicator and God (known as speaking in tongues). Many often tell of seeing spirits. All of these are signs of a mental break and a loss of touch with reality. Religious belief and the angry God phenomenon has caused chaos, destruction, death, and wars for centuries. The time for evolving into a modern society and classifying these archaic beliefs as a mental disorder has been long overdue. This is the first of many steps to a positive direction.”

With the new classification, the APA will lobby to introduce legislation which would allow doctors the right to force life-saving treatment on those who refuse it for spiritual reasons on the grounds that they are mentally incapable of making decisions about their health.

The American Psychological Association says more information about the study and the new classification will be made available to the public in their upcoming journal (which is expected to be release in early August).

Source: http://www.thenewsnerd.com/health/apa-to-classify-belief-in-god-as-a-mental-illness/

bi0nics:



Op too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought

johnydon22:
[size=16]This is an absolutely wrong analogy. . . very stupendous as it is preposterous. . . Belief in a thing does not in anyway equate mental disorder. . . I totally disagree with this [/size]

Formidable1:


It is not really about the belief in the thing that matters, but the effect of that belief on your reasoning capacity and your behaviour.

hahn:
I totally agree with this.

Anybody that prays to something he has never seen, shouts "fire" a billion times, who is okay with the idea that some people should rot in hell, who pays "tithe" to a god that is supposed to own the whole world etc had to be mentally ill. There's no other way about it

johnydon22:
Sometimes emotional sentiments towards a particular subject affects our reason. . . It still doesn't make you retarded in any way. . . I strongly disagree with the fact that belief in God(s) is a mental disorder. . its a very wrong analogy. . it may impair logic in fields that defile this belief but it is not a mental disorder in anyway. . Its a position of belief riddled in emotion

psucc:
I also believe the researchers are mentally derange.

NumberOne2:


You are RIGHT. Here is why.

[size=14pt]According to the same organization (American Psychiatric Association) APA until 1974 homosexuality was a mental illness. So where did the GAY mental illness go?
Could it be that the APA guys have contracted the GAY sickness and now think Religious folks are the sick ones? Hmmm, interesting stuff though.[/size]

Gaborone:
Interested in finding out how they intend to successfully tout for legislation that would allow forced treatment/medical battery in the instances they mentioned, especially in view of the right to freedom of religion.

hahn:
I totally agree with this.

Anybody that prays to something he has never seen, shouts "fire" a billion times, who is okay with the idea that some people should rot in hell, who pays "tithe" to a god that is supposed to own the whole world etc had to be mentally ill. There's no other way about it

cold:

You're free to practice your religion any way you wish. But it is also within the doctor's right and jurisdiction to save lives irrespective of your beliefs. If anyone is so convinced in the existence of some god and his healing powers,why visit the hospital at all? Why not just pray your sicknesses away and also focus on faith healings Chris Oyakilome style?
The legislation if it comes to fruition will be a welcome development.

As an afterthought,isn't it perplexing god had to create Atheists and scientists to solve the problems faith and prayers were supposed to solve?

4 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done.

davien:
Nice logic...and since ovaries were once thought to cause madness and the belief was withdrawn,i guess everyone caught the madness...

KingEbukasBlog:


Ok I'm here :

1.Most of these people that shout "fire a billion times" have had personal experiences with Him
2. Its obvious you have very little knowledge of what tithing is about
3. You have all your life to decide if you will be there or not so I wonder why and what you are afraid of
4 . Are you better than any christian or God-believer on Nairaland , only , that from your poorly cooked up rubbish you describe one as "mentally ill " ?

johnydon22 ... if what you wrote is sincere ... then its cool

Lol ... plaetton and his usual nonesense ... its becoming really embarrassing you know

hahn:

Bubu!

KingEbukasBlog:
why do you know my nickname

hahn:

KingEbukasBlog:


hahn ? ... Hmmm !