Difference between revisions of "Atheism and mental illness"
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''See also:'' [[Atheists and genetic mutations]] | ''See also:'' [[Atheists and genetic mutations]] | ||
− | Left-handedness is a good indicator of a high mutational load.<ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/religion-healthy-atheism-mutant-genes-756984 RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LIVE HEALTHIER, LONGER LIVES—WHILE ATHEISTS COLLECT MUTANT GENES], Newsweek, 2017</ref> People who are left-handed higher incidences of autism and [[schizophrenia]].<ref>[Atheists are more likely to be left handed, study finds], ''The Telegraph'', 2017</ref> A study found that atheists are more likely to be left-handed (see: [[Atheists and genetic mutations]]).<ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/religion-healthy-atheism-mutant-genes-756984 RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LIVE HEALTHIER, LONGER LIVES—WHILE ATHEISTS COLLECT MUTANT GENES], Newsweek, 2017</ref><ref>[Atheists are more likely to be left handed, study finds], ''The Telegraph'', 2017</ref> | + | Left-handedness is a good indicator of a high mutational load.<ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/religion-healthy-atheism-mutant-genes-756984 RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LIVE HEALTHIER, LONGER LIVES—WHILE ATHEISTS COLLECT MUTANT GENES], Newsweek, 2017</ref> People who are left-handed higher incidences of autism and [[schizophrenia]].<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/21/atheists-likely-left-handed-study-finds/ Atheists are more likely to be left handed, study finds], ''The Telegraph'', 2017</ref> A study found that atheists are more likely to be left-handed (see: [[Atheists and genetic mutations]]).<ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/religion-healthy-atheism-mutant-genes-756984 RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LIVE HEALTHIER, LONGER LIVES—WHILE ATHEISTS COLLECT MUTANT GENES], Newsweek, 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/21/atheists-likely-left-handed-study-finds/ Atheists are more likely to be left handed, study finds], ''The Telegraph'', 2017</ref> |
For additional information, please see: | For additional information, please see: |
Revision as of 20:33, December 8, 2018
Atheism and mental illness is an increasingly popular topic of study in light of the growing list of atheist shooters and serial killers.
Global News reported:
“ | Children who are raised with religious or spiritual beliefs tend to have better mental health into their adulthood, a new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found.
According to the study’s findings, people who attended weekly religious services or prayed or meditated daily in their childhood reported greater life satisfaction in their 20s. People who grew up in a religious household also reported fewer symptoms of depression and lower rates of post-traumatic stress disorder.[2] |
” |
See also: Atheism and depression
Contents
Atheism and psychopathy
See also: Atheism and psychopathy
A psychopath is someone with an anti-social personality disorder characterized by violent, perverted or immoral behavior often leading to criminality. Psychopaths have little or no concern for other people. Some psychopaths equate love with sexual arousal.[3]A few studies have found that there is a positive correlation of atheism and psychopathy (see: Atheism and psychopathy.
Atheism and suicide
See also: Atheism and suicide
The journal article A global perspective in the epidemiology of suicide, published in the academic journal Suicidologi, found that "At 25.6, the total suicide rate is markedly highest in Atheist countries (e.g. China) which included in this analysis countries where religious observances had been prohibited for a long period of time (e.g. Albania)."[4]
Atheism, autism, schizophrenia and genetic mutations
See also: Atheists and genetic mutations
Left-handedness is a good indicator of a high mutational load.[5] People who are left-handed higher incidences of autism and schizophrenia.[6] A study found that atheists are more likely to be left-handed (see: Atheists and genetic mutations).[7][8]
For additional information, please see:
Secular leftists and psychogenic illness
See: Secular leftists and psychogenic illness
Lack of significant resources applied to the issue of atheism and mental health
See also: Causes of atheism
Rob Whitney, PhD wrote in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry:
“ | The exploration of the impact of religiosity on mental health is an enduring, if somewhat quiet, tradition. There has been virtually no exploration, however, of the influence of atheism on mental health.
I argue that atheism, especially positive atheism, should be treated as a meaningful sociocultural variable in the study of mental health. I argue that atheism (just like theism) is an appropriate domain of study for social and cultural psychiatrists (and allied social scientists) interested in exploring socio-environmental stressors and buffers relating to mental health. Specifically, I argue that (1) atheism needs to be accurately measured as an individual-level exposure variable, with the aim of relating that variable to psychiatric outcomes, (2) there needs to be greater systematic investigation into the influence of atheism on psychiatry as an institution, and (3) the relation of atheism to mental health needs to be explored by examining atheistic theory and its practical application, especially as it relates to the human condition, suffering, and concepts of personhood.[9] |
” |
At the atheist conference Skepticon 7, Dr. Melanie Brewster (who is an atheist herself) gave a talk entitled Why is Psychology Silent When it Comes to Atheism? in which she indicated that significant resources have not been devoted to studying the issue atheism and mental health (especially when compared to the effects of religion upon mental health)[10] Dr. Brewster said there is a unofficial taboo among psychologists about psychologists studying the effect of atheism upon individuals.[11] In America Brewster attributed part of this taboo is related to negative views that Americans have toward atheists (see: Views on atheists and Distrust of atheists).[12]
See also
- Atheism and depression
- Atheism and alcoholism
- Atheism and health
- Atheism and negative emotions/thoughts
- Atheism and Mass Murder
- List of atheist shooters and serial killers
- Irreligious prison population
- Religion and crime reduction
- Atheism and morality
- Atheistic communism and torture
References
- ↑ Mueller, Dr. Paul S. et al. (December 2001). "Religious involvement, spirituality, and medicine: implications for clinical practice". Mayo Clinic Proceedings vol. 76:12, pp. 1225-1235. Retrieved from Mayo Clinic Proceedings website on July 20, 2014.
- ↑ Religion can help improve children’s mental health, new study finds, Global News, 2018
- ↑ Robert D. Hare (2011). Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. Guilford Press, 52. ISBN 978-16062-35782.
- ↑ José Maoel Bertolote, Alexandra Fleischmann (2002). "A global perspective in the epidemiology of suicide". Suicidologi 7 (2). https://www.iasp.info/pdf/papers/Bertolote.pdf.
- ↑ RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LIVE HEALTHIER, LONGER LIVES—WHILE ATHEISTS COLLECT MUTANT GENES, Newsweek, 2017
- ↑ Atheists are more likely to be left handed, study finds, The Telegraph, 2017
- ↑ RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LIVE HEALTHIER, LONGER LIVES—WHILE ATHEISTS COLLECT MUTANT GENES, Newsweek, 2017
- ↑ Atheists are more likely to be left handed, study finds, The Telegraph, 2017
- ↑ [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/10673221003747674 Atheism and Mental Health Rob Whitley , PhD, Harvard Review of Psychiatry, Volume 18, 2010 - Issue 3
- ↑ Why is Psychology Silent When it Comes to Atheism? - Dr. Melanie Brewster - Skepticon 7
- ↑ Why is Psychology Silent When it Comes to Atheism? - Dr. Melanie Brewster - Skepticon 7
- ↑ Why is Psychology Silent When it Comes to Atheism? - Dr. Melanie Brewster - Skepticon 7
External links
- Is Atheism Linked to Mental Illness? in Mind&Spirit
- The Psychology of Atheism by Paul C. Vitz
- Atheists List of Killers and Criminals by Brett Keane
- CS Monitor - Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history by Dinesh D'Souza