Atheism and depression?

[1234]

ROTFLMAO!!

I am atheist, and although I have been depressed for many reasons - bullying at school, death of loved uncle, having an illness that involved changing my life - my beliefs have not caused me any unhappiness. In fact the opposite is true - I feel liberated and able to treat all mankind with respect without being told by a holy book to hate people because they are unbelievers. Ur attitude towards atheists just proves my point.

Once again I think that as there are so few atheists and so many depressed, that there must be many more depressed than atheists, and therefore there is no positive statistical association between the two.

if people know depressed atheists, it may be that atheists are more willing to *admit *that they are depressed. Christians are not supposed to be depressed. After all, they are saved; they can look forward to heaven; they have the sacraments, etc. etc.

They also have, if they are RC’s, a religion which will condemn them to hell for masturbating, for example, and fornicating, which is not harmful or damaging in all cases and in any event, is very widespread–and a host of other transgressions, many of which (masturbation) are not condemned as sins by mainstream Protestant churches. RC’s and theists in general have, if they have a philosophical bent, very poor explanations for the existence of evil, and if they are Trinitarians, they have to believe in a lot of miracles and mysteries and things that don’t happen now or are not mirrored in everyday life. This can lead to–depression.

 

[porkscratchings]

They also have, if they are RC’s, a religion which will condemn them to hell for masturbating, for example, and fornicating, which is not harmful or damaging in all cases and in any event, is very widespread–and a host of other transgressions, many of which (masturbation) are not condemned as sins by mainstream Protestant churches. RC’s and theists in general have, if they have a philosophical bent, very poor explanations for the existence of evil, and if they are Trinitarians, they have to believe in a lot of miracles and mysteries and things that don’t happen now or are not mirrored in everyday life. This can lead to–depression.

I don’t think theists have poor understanding of evil unless we concede all humans have a poor understanding of evil - as we try to blame someone else - God, the Devil (if ur a theist), or other people (folks whose culture/religion/background differs from our own). Despite advances in our understanding of human psychology, most people still blame foreigners, folks of a rival political party/faction, the Jews, UFOs, the do-gooders, the rednecks, and the list goes on…for things that are wrong in their society.

I think that depression can arise from the conflict between the roles we have to play in society - e.g. career woman vs mother, caring for a sick relative vs having more free time, marriage vs living together, being disable in a society that despises that despises the disabled, obeying the law on stealing vs desperately needing money., and so on. A religious person can have one or many of the above issues and have to deal with the rules of the religion as well. This can create additiional conflicts between roles that an atheist or a less religious person would have to deal with.

Examples:

What if:

1. Ur faith condemns divorce but ur husband/wife is beating u or abusing the kids. What do u do?
2. Ur faith demand u must marry ur cousin of the same faith. U fall in love with someone of another faith.
3. U end up in a place where u can’t find Halal/Kosher food and ur serious about keeping the dietary laws.
4. U watch TV - someone quotes from ur holy book and tells u to go out and do things that break the law of the country u live in.
5. U have to wear special clothes as part of ur faith but u’ve found a job, after desperately searching for a long time, but the job doesn’t allow u to wear ur clothes or the uniform provided is too revealing.
6. U r celibate but u’ve been getting these feelings that seem out of ur control - what do u do?

 

[Sideline]

I’ve been a believer and non-believer. I also suffer from depression with monotonous regularity.

I haven’t noticed any difference in the depth, frequency, or duration of my depressive episodes based on my religious beliefs.

What has had an impact is how busy I am and how my relationships with others are going. When I have lots of contact with people, and I’m busy, it makes a difference.

It is possible that people who are deeply involved in their church have a more vibrant social life which would make a difference.

 

[1234]

I don’t think theists have poor understanding of evil unless we concede all humans have a poor understanding of evil - as we try to blame someone else - God, the Devil (if ur a theist), or other people (folks whose culture/religion/background differs from our own). Despite advances in our understanding of human psychology, most people still blame foreigners, folks of a rival political party/faction, the Jews, UFOs, the do-gooders, the rednecks, and the list goes on…for things that are wrong in their society.

I think that depression can arise from the conflict between the roles we have to play in society - e.g. career woman vs mother, caring for a sick relative vs having more free time, marriage vs living together, being disable in a society that despises that despises the disabled, obeying the law on stealing vs desperately needing money., and so on. A religious person can have one or many of the above issues and have to deal with the rules of the religion as well. This can create additiional conflicts between roles that an atheist or a less religious person would have to deal with.

Examples:

What if:

1. Ur faith condemns divorce but ur husband/wife is beating u or abusing the kids. What do u do?
2. Ur faith demand u must marry ur cousin of the same faith. U fall in love with someone of another faith.
3. U end up in a place where u can’t find Halal/Kosher food and ur serious about keeping the dietary laws.
4. U watch TV - someone quotes from ur holy book and tells u to go out and do things that break the law of the country u live in.
5. U have to wear special clothes as part of ur faith but u’ve found a job, after desperately searching for a long time, but the job doesn’t allow u to wear ur clothes or the uniform provided is too revealing.
6. U r celibate but u’ve been getting these feelings that seem out of ur control - what do u do?

Good post and I agree.

High expectations–unreasonable ones–are an excellent source of depression.

–do you TM a lot, by any chance?

 

[1234]

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It is possible that people who are deeply involved in their church have a more vibrant social life which would make a difference.

I think that this is very true.

The biggest contribution that a church can make is in the social life and support that it can offer its members. I suspect that the Protestant churches realized this a long time ago, as it is in this that Protestant churches really shine. One reason the mega-churches are so large is the number and variety of their social programs. My denomination used to focus on intellectual appeal, but at some point it too realized that people want social and emotional support throughout life, and are now offering this; my local church has a creche during the church services, young children’s Sunday school, a teen group, young adult and family ministry, and several exploration and book groups for adults, and this church, too, is thriving.

 

[Sideline]

I think that this is very true.

The biggest contribution that a church can make is in the social life and support that it can offer its members. I suspect that the Protestant churches realized this a long time ago, as it is in this that Protestant churches really shine. One reason the mega-churches are so large is the number and variety of their social programs. My denomination used to focus on intellectual appeal, but at some point it too realized that people want social and emotional support throughout life, and are now offering this; my local church has a creche during the church services, young children’s Sunday school, a teen group, young adult and family ministry, and several exploration and book groups for adults, and this church, too, is thriving.

This certainly fits with my personal experience. When I was in high school I was very actively involved in our youth group at church. I had lots of friends and was always busy. It never crossed my mind not to be Catholic. That was what I was, my family was, and all my friends were.

Then I went to the seminary. It was about the worst eight months of my life. I had no friends, no family, and we never (I mean never) did anything fun. I decided to leave. By the time I got back my social network at home had completely evaporated. Suddenly, I found myself going to church alone, sitting alone, and leaving alone. I found myself really having to ask if I was doing it because I believed in it, or out of habit.

I realized it was more out of habit than belief.

 

[porkscratchings]

Good post and I agree.

High expectations–unreasonable ones–are an excellent source of depression.

–do you TM a lot, by any chance?

dunno what u mean by TM, so i can’t answer the q.

 

[Minnie31]

I found myself really having to ask if I was doing it because I believed in it, or out of habit.

I realized it was more out of habit than belief.

The same thing happened to me. I had taken a multiple choice religion exam in elementary school with a question about why we attend church and one of the choices was because it was a routine. That’s when I realized that was the real reason why I attended mass although the “correct” answer was to worship god because we love him.