There has always been a general, unchallenged belief that religion is good for mental health. There is now a new report that begins to dispel this belief with respect to people who are engaged in an internal debate about whether they should stay in religion or leave. The report compares people who dropped out of religion with those who stay religious and with those who have no religious affiliations. It concludes that stayers experience more depressive symptoms than any other group and that they experience a greater increase in depressive symptoms over time.
Although this report is not written from a Biblical or theological perspective, it affirms that leaving religion is a healthy thing to do. It claims that mental health difficulties arise from unresolved doubts that some, perhaps all, religious people entertain at one time or another. It affirms that doubt about religion is a good thing as long as doubters take initiatives to discover the truth about religion.
To restate all of the above, the report says that faking faith with outward religious activity, while internally doubting whether that activity is effective, results in depression.
| Here are a few links that can be helpful to people who are dealing with doubts about religion: | And here are links to other resources that report on the struggles and consequences of breaking with religion: |
What we see in these articles and reports is evidence that religion is not able to deliver on any of its promises. If it could deliver, there would be no reason for people to entertain doubts about it or subject themselves to the agony of leaving it. But, for an increasing number of Christians, that is exactly what they are doing. They are leaving because God is opening their eyes to see the truth about religion and about their hypocrisy. And, now that their eyes are opened to these truths, they are no longer willing to live with the disconnect between their outward behaviors and their internal beliefs.
These truth seekers have come to understand that religion is built on deception and hypocrisy. Moreover, they understand that have been both victims of religion and willing accomplices in the advancement of religious systems that enslave, oppress and afflict others with burdensome religious laws. They are on their way to living in personal freedom from religion while setting others free from religion.
As long as religionists remain proud about their religion, they are happy, content, and satisfied to remain in their religion because it provides many rewards. It is only after they have their eyes opened to truth about religion that the internal conflicts that affect emotional and mental health begin. The doubts that now plague them create cognitive dissonance that causes emotional and mental disruptions if they are not resolved.
One way that many people try to resolve this problem is to hunker down and get more religious. They hope to block out doubt by incorporating more religious activity into their lives. This strategy is applauded by other religious people, but getting busy with other things is not an honest or healthy way to deal with any problem.
Coming to understanding about the differences between religion and faith is the only way to resolve the emotional and mental conflict aroused in people who have doubts about religion. The only way to deal with these doubts is to take personal responsibility for learning about God. The first step is to stop listening to religious leaders (i.e. false prophets). The next important thing to do is study and ask questions. This is what it means to seek God with all your mind, heart, soul and strength.
The purpose of study is not to learn what the literal Bible says. Anyone, even unbelievers, can study and memorize Bible verses and not see any change in their lives. The purpose of study, however, is to learn how to listen to God’s spoken voice. And this only happens for people who learn how to interpret the Bible symbolically and not literally.
This is a totally new learning paradigm for religious people. They have been trained (i.e. indoctrinated) to rely on religious leaders to teach them about God, but when they learn what God has to say about religion, they are greatly humbled to admit that they had believed lies and that they had put their trust in mortal men — not in God’s spoken word.
Coming to that point of humility is not an easy or pleasant process. But those who go through the process will find it very profitable when they access the spiritual life that is available to people who hear God’s spoken word. They find that there is a righteous alternative to religion that they did not know existed, and they never look back with regret for having left religion.