A Debate; Believing in God is psychologically healthy

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A Debate Believing in God is psychologically
healthy

• Kristin Nomides
• Courtney Holbrook
• Aaron Smith
• Stephanie Rezac
• Ashley Walker

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Round 1!Pro

• Believing in God is psychologically Healthy!

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Health Benefits of Religion

• Above average longevity
• Fewer strokes
• Less heart disease
• Less clinical depression
• Better immune system function
• Fewer anxiety attacks
• Less likely to commit suicide

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Studies Show

• Survey of demography of 21,000 Americans
• Those who never attend church have 50 higher
  risk of mortality (ncpa.org)
• 1001 health effects studies show
• Significant relationship between worship service
  attendance and improved health
• Lack of religious involvement has an effect on
  mortality equivalent to 40 years of smoking 1
  pack of cigarettes per day said Koenig (ncpa.org)

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Studies continued

• University of Texas researches found
• Regular church attendees lived an average of
  seven years longer than those who never attended!
  (ncpa.org)

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Life Expectancy and Religious Attendance

• (Myers)

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Reasons for longer life

• Beliefs of religiously active people motivate
  healthier lifestyles
• Smoke and drink less
• Some are vegetarian
• Orthodox Israelites intake less fat than other
  non-religious people (Myers)

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Religious Involvement

• People that are more religiously involved are
  mentally and physically healthier
• Better at coping with illness
• Lower blood pressure (Abrams)
• "If a person is already involved in religion,
  they can at least be assured that these
  activities are not going to harm their health but
  can lead to happier and healthier life." (Parker)

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Health of Religious People

• Recover faster
• Generally handle life's ups and downs with less
  physical reactions (dukemednews.org)
• Even the skeptics, Koenig says, should pay
  attention to his latest findings, since, in
  practical terms, it means less expense for
  insurance companies and hospitals.
• 
  

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More Reasons

• Social support
• Christianity, Islam and Judaism are communal
  religions
• Satisfies human need to belong (Myers)

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Still more reasons

• A sense of hope for the long-term future
• Feelings of ultimate acceptance
• Relaxed meditation of prayer and Sabbath
  observance
• Religiously active people have healthier immune
  functioning and fewer hospitals admissions (Myers)

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Chart of Reasons

• (Myers)

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Round 2!Con

• Believing in God is psychologically unhealthy

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Religious Justification

• In Extreme cases people are willing to kill or
  die for religion
• Religion numbs people against all appeals to
  pity, forgiveness, or decent human feelings

Holy Bible
Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene
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Examples of Religious Justification

• 1987 ? The suicide of 913 followers of Jim Jones
  in the Jungles of Guyana
• 1990 ? the death of more than 2000 people when
  Hindu fundamentalists in Ayodhya tore down a 16th
  century mosque that they believed was built on
  the birth site of Lord Rama
• 1993 ? the death of 6 people and the injury of
  more than 1000 in the bombing of the World Trade
  Center in the NYC by individuals associated with
  Islamic fundamentalism
• 1994 ? the mass suicide murder of 53 members of
  the doomsday cult order of the Solar Temple, and
  then 16 more including 3 children the following
  year
• 2001 ? September 11th the seizure of American
  planes which added in the attack on the world
  trade buildings and the pentagon.

Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene
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Unhealthy Persuasion

• The Promise of
• HELL
• many children and even some adults believe they
  will suffer ghastly torments after death if they
  do not obey the priestly rules..
• Richard Dawkins- The Selfish Genes
• ? Causes Great Psychological Anguish

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Religion and Human Savagery

• Religion and its practices is the last refuge for
  savage practices such as
• Human Sacrifice
• Slaughter of Children
• Sensual Orgies
• Object Superstition
• Hatred Between Races (KKK)
• Maintenance of degrading costumes
• Hysteria
• Bigotry

Alfred North Whitehead
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Children and Religion

• Myth Vs. Reality
• Should parents bring their
• children up with religion?
• Children are impressionable
• Children should be taught religion as a myth so
  that they can be allowed to outgrow the myths
  with time if they want to.

Timothy J. Madigon
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The Get out of Jail Free God Card

• People of God can get away with more
• They can run heath care systems that can refuse
  medicine to women
• Birth control
• Abortions
• Total sex discrimination
• Some churches do not allow women priests
• Torturing and Killing
• Islamic World

Katha Pollitt
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Ecclesiogenic Neuroses

• Church-related abstinent practices and
  enforcement can lead to secrecy, prohibitions,
  and threats which can further lead to a mental
  disorder known as ecclesiogenic neuroses

Eberhard Schaetzing
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Religious Schizophrenia

• It has been documented that some religious
  practices lead to a psychotic break, otherwise
  known as schizophrenia
• Example
• Bratslav Hasidism, an ultraorthodox sect in
  Israel and NY, has isolated and paranoid
  individuals. Their participation in the sects
  unusual practices, such as praying at night at
  the tombs of spiritual leaders, can finally bring
  about the psychotic break

Bernard Spilka and Paul Werme
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Works Cited

• AbramsVivi. A Healthy Spirit Researcher sees
  link between good health, religious involvement.
  Lexis-Nexis. 26 Apr. 2004. The Birmingham News.
  17 Oct. 2004
• lthttp//0-web.lexis-nexis.com gt.
• Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. Oxford
  Oxford University Press, 1989.
• Easterbrook, Greg. Religion is Good for your
  Health. National Center for Policy Analysis. 17
  Oct. 2004
• lt http//www.ncpa.orggt.
• Madigon, Timothy J. Filling a Childs Head with
  Nonsense. Free Inquiry 1994.
• More Evidence that Religion is Healthy. 25 Dec.
• 1998. Dukemed. 17 Oct. 2004
• lt http//www.dukemednews.org gt.
• Myers, David G. On Assessing prayer, Faith and
  Health. Resources on psychology and religion.
  2000. 17 Oct. 2004.
• lt http//www.davidmyers.orggt.
• Pollitt, Katha. God Changes Everything. The
  Nation 2002.
• Schaetzing, E. Die ekklesiogenen Neurosen. Wege
  zum Menschen, 1955.
• Spilka, B., and Werme, P.H. Religion and Mental
  Disorder A Research Perspective. 1971.
• Whitehead, A.N. Religion in the Making. New York
  Macmillian, 1926.