New York — Across the world, the religious landscape is far from calm. There were many sects Torn by divisions. In some areas, believers are targeted with violence. Countless religious leaders have betrayed their flocks through corruption or… Sexual assault.
Against this background, there has been a long-standing debate about the role that religion can play in promoting personal well-being and reducing the risk of mental health problems.
There is a positive view on the relationship of religious belief and mental health by several prominent American mental health organizations, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health in America.
“Religion gives people something to believe in, provides a sense of structure and typically offers a group of people to connect with” those with similar beliefs, according to NAMI. “Research indicates that religiosity reduces rates of suicide, alcoholism, and drug abuse.”
The American Psychological Association is taking a nuanced approach, reflecting the opinions of several experts who shared their views with The Associated Press. The APA says its Guide to Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality “highlights the many purposes that religion serves, the rich diversity of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, and the ability of religion and spirituality to do good and harm.”
At St. John Fisher University — a Catholic school in Rochester, New York — visiting psychology teacher Timothy Powers says he sees that duality in his counseling practice.
“While religious community involvement can confer real, well-documented protective benefits, those same communities can also be sources of shame, spiritual bypassing, trauma, and significant barriers to seeking help,” Powers said via email. “Clinically, both facts emerge in the consulting room, sometimes in the same person.”
“The task of therapists is to approach the topic without assuming that religion/spirituality is a resource or a wound, to be open to ambiguity, and to ask rather than assume,” Powers added.
Charles Camosy, professor of moral theology and bioethics at The Catholic University of America, also shared nuanced thoughts.
“On one hand we expect that devotion will bring good things in this life,” Camosy said in an email.
He added, “Living according to the Gospel does not lead to a healthy and prosperous life for everyone. People continue to get sick, including the mentally ill.” “Christians, especially faithful Christians who are salt and light in a world full of violence and injustice, do not receive the promise of mental health as a reward for faithfulness in this life.”
On Monday, there was a new contribution to the discussion, a report compiled by a team of professors and researchers at Brigham Young University’s Wheatley Institute. The Institute describes its primary mission as: “research-supported work that strengthens the basic institutions of family, religion, and constitutional government.”
Citing an analysis of hundreds of previous studies, the report says that committed religious participation — corresponding to at least weekly attendance at worship services — was associated with lower suicide risk, better stress management, reduced substance use, and higher levels of hope.
“Although there are harmful or coercive forms of religion, the general pattern across the best available studies is clear: religious beliefs and practices are significantly associated with improved mental and emotional health,” the report said.
Fish Stark, executive director of the American Humanist Association, said he had no objection to the assertion that religious participation may have psychological benefits. But he stressed that non-religious people have ways to do equally well.
“If you have a strong secular atheist identity and are actively involved in a non-religious community, you will get the same benefits,” Stark said.
“The key is whether you have basic convictions and participate in social groups,” he added. “Those with strong religious identities and strong secular identities feel equally happy.”
Sociology professor Ellen Edler, director of Emory University’s Religious and Public Health Collaborative, suggested that the impact of religion on mental health should not be measured only among those who regularly attend religious services.
“Those who have been harmed or perceived to have been harmed by religion will stay away, leaving those who are less disturbed in the pews,” she said, citing people who were sexually abused by clergy as children or stigmatized by their congregations for being LGBT.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP cooperation With The Conversation US, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., the AP is solely responsible for this content.