Are devout Christians mentally ill because of their irrational supernatural beliefs? For those of us who were committed Evangelicals at one time, were we mentally ill? Does this mean that billions of people are mentally ill just because they devoutly worship, serve, and follow God? Listen to some atheists, and it is clear that they believe the answer is a resounding YES! Most atheists who make this claim have never been religious. To them, religion is a virus that causes mental disease. This allows them to dismiss Christianity out of hand without wrestling with and engaging their claims. In my opinion, this is lazy thinking.
We humans, religious or not, are prone to irrational belief. All of us, at one time or another, have had wonky, crazy beliefs. As a former Evangelical, I know that many of my past religious beliefs were illogical and unjustifiable. Does this mean I was mentally ill? Of course not. For those of us raised in Evangelical churches, we spent years being indoctrinated and conditioned by our parents, pastors, youth directors, Sunday school teachers, and others. We believed what we did because that’s all we knew at the time. How could I have believed otherwise?
I wish atheists would stop saying religious people are mentally ill. Christians might have mental health problems, but is religion solely to blame for this? I don’t think so, and it is uncharitable and unkind to suggest otherwise.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.
