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I'm wondering if it's actually possible to become addicted to religion.
For me, it was very hard to deconvert from the fundamentalist Christianity I was raised with. I had actual health problems like axiety disorders, depression, insomnia, etc. I think it's fair to say that I was "dependent" or maybe even "addicted" to religion.
Marx famously said religion was the "opiate of the masses." Maybe he was more right than he knew.
Has anyone else had similar problems deconverting from a religion? Does it make sense to say that religion can actually be addictive?
I'm wondering if it's actually possible to become addicted to religion.
For me, it was very hard to deconvert from the fundamentalist Christianity I was raised with. I had actual health problems like axiety disorders, depression, insomnia, etc. I think it's fair to say that I was "dependent" or maybe even "addicted" to religion.
Marx famously said religion was the "opiate of the masses." Maybe he was more right than he knew.
Has anyone else had similar problems deconverting from a religion? Does it make sense to say that religion can actually be addictive?
I didn't have a problem stepping away from Catholicism/Christianity as a teen. Why I think some folks cling so fervently to their dogma is because certainty brings peace of mind. And nowhere is this mindset more perfectly exemplified than that of the fundamentalist.
For them, everything is either right or wrong and determined by a certain interpretation of a certain edition of a certain compilation of ancient pamphlets. They don't even have to bother reading it and getting that gist for themselves!
Nossir!
They just need to squeeze themselves into a jacket and tie once a week and regurgitate what the guy droning at the lectern said.
At least the parts they caught between naps.
In other words -- they relieve themselves of the painful task of self-examination -- in favour of what some desert-dwellers told them to think a few thousand years ago.
People certainly depend on religion and the question is whether it's the sort of dependency that equates to addiction.
To my mind there are two reasons to depend on something. One is that it actually performs. I can depend on breathing the air around me, and on the sun rising at a particular time tomorrow. For the most part, I can depend on my car to get me places. I depend on those things because they actually work reliably.
The other kind of dependence is the sort of thing that keeps your brain away from scary or unpleasant things, or maybe even provides it with a "hit" of pleasure. Religion protects from uncertainty by providing assertions of truth and morality, and it can provide both real and false security through a sense of community, and by fostering a relationship with an imaginary powerful being who's in your corner. To an extent it also uses art, particularly music, to soothe.
In my personal experience the invisible friend never delivered in any tight spot and the sense of community was conditional, judgmental and controlling in almost equal measure to its sometimes kindness. And since I was evangelical rather than liberal, the music wasn't too great, either.
I did not find deconversion to be a trivial matter but then again I didn't find being a believer terribly gratifying either. Still, it was a loss for the simple reason that you grieve any loss -- it was a part of your daily life, familiar and known even if ineffective in important ways, and when you leave it, you're in uncharted territory for awhile.
I think it can be . But I'd differ from some in that I can see it working positively in some getting away from the pejorative aspects 'addiction'. Not everyone's cup of tea but we all drink from different 'cups' to make sense of the world and how we live and perceive it.
I was brought up in a Christian household, mother was "chapel", dad sang in the choir. but I left all that behind when I left home, I'm a Pagan these days.
It certainly keeps me coning back for more. Fortunately Gldnrule is probably right that atheism will never supplant Theism and I won't have to approach the furtive -looking hoodies slouching around beside the disused supermarket muttering 'Drug, sex, cheap booze, smuggle cigaret?' to passers by and ask ' "Got any religion?"
I'm wondering if it's actually possible to become addicted to religion.
For me, it was very hard to deconvert from the fundamentalist Christianity I was raised with. I had actual health problems like axiety disorders, depression, insomnia, etc. I think it's fair to say that I was "dependent" or maybe even "addicted" to religion.
Marx famously said religion was the "opiate of the masses." Maybe he was more right than he knew.
Has anyone else had similar problems deconverting from a religion? Does it make sense to say that religion can actually be addictive?
Those things can happen for any number of reasons. I wouldn't classify it as withdrawal from an addiction, unless you say that anytime your world view is shaken or broken, or you lose something or someone that was a major part of your life (eg. job, health, loved one, etc.) and you respond with anxiety and depression, it means you were addicted to whatever you lost.
On the other hand, I do think that religion can become an unhealthy obsession for some of us. I know it was for me. But, looking back, I believe I was obsessed with Christianity (of the evangelical/fundamentalist variety) because I was desperately trying to make it be self-consistent and to understand why Christianity didn't seem to be making any important difference in how people lived their lives as compared to the general "unbelievers" population.
When you hear the ones that talk like "Gotta have it, can't live or function without it" that does bear resemblance to an addiction.
Of course, the same thing can be said about food so it doesn't mean some addictions are inherently bad
I'm wondering if it's actually possible to become addicted to religion.
For me, it was very hard to deconvert from the fundamentalist Christianity I was raised with. I had actual health problems like axiety disorders, depression, insomnia, etc. I think it's fair to say that I was "dependent" or maybe even "addicted" to religion.
Marx famously said religion was the "opiate of the masses." Maybe he was more right than he knew.
Has anyone else had similar problems deconverting from a religion? Does it make sense to say that religion can actually be addictive?
Yes--I think even some atheists are addicted to their religious worldview.
I hope and pray never to be addicted to religion for fear of becoming religious. Although making every attempt to avoid
arrogance and a lack of charity for those victimize by organized
religion and its shortcomings ( ie, lack of hebrew roots, endtimes prophecy, preparedness even interest). Why victims? Primarily due to religion linked to a dead church ( in general, not all churches) leading to complacency,lukewarmness and completely ignorant of whats ahead (heads in the sand syndrome). So study scripture beyomd the philosophies embedded in your good pastor, get into home bible study and
allow the Holy Spirit to overwhelm religions distraction and you
will find " the beef" ! Seriously you will "get" Yeshua and His teachings plus those sent out albeit apostles. Most pastors
are great and essential but often follow the bible
school script in itself a religion spin ( a kind of red flag )?
Last edited by openmike; 03-08-2015 at 11:49 AM..
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"Got any religion?"
