Religouse Believers More Depressed than Atheists

reply to post by Liquesence


That's exactly the kind of stuff that pisses me off about religion. The least you can do is understand what is deadly and why. You know why I don't have faith? Because faith kills in the wrong doses and induces delusional tendencies in the right doses. No thank you. I employ calculated risk and that's it.

reply to post by Grimpachi


Off the abstract.

However, I can't recall reading an abstract out of 100's of such . . . wherein the abstract failed to make a distinction between INTRINSIC vs EXTRINSIC believers

WHILE the full article did. I can't recall a SINGLE such case.

reply to post by Grimpachi


What's causing all the double posts?
Sigh.

reply to post by Liquesence


No. It's not craziness at all.

However, if after a reasonable time . . . God has not moved miraculously, it's perfectly Biblically reasonable to get medical care . . . and even before while waiting on God.

St Paul had St Luke the Physician traveling with him some of the time.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


Soooooooooooo . . . how has man's essence, humanness, basic dynamics changed in the last 40 years that might make a shred of difference on these issues?

Even in the last 5,000 years?

Groping for an out for your biases is not knowledge nor wisdom.

reply to post by BO XIAN

Soooooooooooo . . . how has man's essence, humanness, basic dynamics changed in the last 40 years that might make a shred of difference on these issues?

Even in the last 5,000 years?

Groping for an out for your biases is not knowledge nor wisdom.

We're becoming more aware of our essential nature. The next step is completing our understanding. The step after that is a choice: accept the understanding and act accordingly, or ignore it and pretend it's something else.

reply to post by Grimpachi


www.zimbio.com...

Emphases added:

Modern I-E scales are set up so that I and E are thought of as separate constructs where individuals score along two separate dimensions (i.e., low E to high E and low I to high I). Research has identified many negative correlates of high E (e.g., narcissism, guilt, fear of death, aggression, etc.).

Current work in the psychology of religion is characterized by the assumption that measuring religiosity as a unitary construct produces misleading results. Instead, the field has been influenced by the separation of religiosity into E and I orientations. The practical implication is that most of what we think of as the negative correlates of religious belief have been supported for extrinsic religiosity but not intrinsic religiosity. It is also noteworthy that extrinsic religiosity is much more highly correlated with measures of religious fundamentalism than is intrinsic religiosity.

= = =

2.
Religion, Intrinsic-Extrinsic Orientation, and Depression

Vicky Genia, Dale G. Shaw
Review of Religious Research, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Mar., 1991), pp. 274-283


www.jstor.org... cc%3Doff%26wc%3Don%26fc%3Doff&Search=yes&searchText=Intrinsic&searchText=Extrinsic&searchText=Religious&searchText=orientations&uid=3739256&uid=2134&u id=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102791016203

= = =


9.
A Study of Religiosity and Psychological Well-Being among African Americans: Implications for Counseling and Psychotherapeutic Processes

Linda K. Colbert, Joseph L. Jefferson, Ralph Gallo, Ronnie Davis
Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Sep., 2009), pp. 278-289


www.jstor.org... acc%3Doff%26wc%3Don%26fc%3Doff&Search=yes&searchText=Intrinsic&searchText=Extrinsic&searchText=Religious&searchText=orientations&uid=3739256&uid=2134& uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102791016203

= = =


A Comparison of Religious Orientation and Health Between Whites and Hispanics

Ray M. Merrill, Patrick Steffen, Bradley D. Hunter
Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 51, No. 4 (December 2012), pp. 1261-1277


www.jstor.org... acc%3Doff%26wc%3Don%26fc%3Doff&Search=yes&searchText=Intrinsic&searchText=Extrinsic&searchText=Religious&searchText=orientations&uid=3739256&uid=2134& uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102791016203

Vol. 51, No. 4 (December 2012), pp. 1261-1277
(article consists of 17 pages)
Published by: Springer
DOI: 10.2307/23352782
Stable URL: www.jstor.org...
Abstract

The study of religious orientation thus far has neglected the influence of race/ethnicity as well as all four religious orientations (intrinsic, extrinsic, pro-religious and nonreligious) in explaining differences in both physical and psychological health. A representative sample of 250 Hispanics and 236 non-Hispanic Whites in Utah was drawn and analysed for differences in health (self-rated health, life satisfaction, exercise) according to race/ethnicity, religious orientation and religious attendance. Responses to the Religious Orientation Scale differed significantly by race/ethnicity, indicating that future studies of religious orientation should take cultural context into account. For both Whites and Hispanics, pro-religious individuals reported the highest life satisfaction scores, which highlight the utility of employing the fourfold religious orientation typology.

= = =


24.
God Help Me (II): The Relationship of Religious Orientations to Religious Coping with Negative Life Events

Kenneth I. Pargament, Hannah Olsen, Barbara Reilly, Kathryn Falgout, David S. Ensing, Kimberly Van Haitsma
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Dec., 1992), pp. 504-513


www.jstor.org... cc%3Doff%26wc%3Don%26fc%3Doff&Search=yes&searchText=Intrinsic&searchText=Extrinsic&searchText=Religious&searchText=orientations&uid=3739256&uid=2134&u id=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102791016203

= = =

INTRINSIC-EXTRINSIC RELIGIOSITY

www.hirr.hartsem.edu...

Consistent with Allport's view of mature religiosity, extrinsic but not intrinsic religiosity typically correlates with more dysfunctional psychological constructs. Many psychometric critiques and modifications of the scales have been published. The only consensus is that extrinsic and intrinsic must be treated as independent scales, not as a continuum as initially conceived. Major critical reviews have emphasized the lack of theory-driven research, the inadequacies of these scales to operationalize fully Allport's theory, and the failure to clearly define religious orientations in value-neutral terms. The psychometric limitations of the original scales repeatedly have been challenged. An age-universal version of these scales is available. It is a matter of contention whether the scales are best used as independent dimensions or the basis for constructing typologies. Studies using these scales and theoretically linked alternatives continue to provide the major database for the contemporary empirical psychology of religion.

—Ralph W. Hood, Jr .

= = =

etc.
etc.

etc.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


That's not what I've observed.

It appears that millions are losing sight of any hint of an understanding of our essential nature.

All manner of off the wall fantasies devoid of a functional connection with tangible daily life . . . seem to enjoy lots of fans in our era.

reply to post by Grimpachi


Its that there is something missing in the average atheist that does not let them feel the divine and that same thing that is missing makes them a little more machine like and a little less human like.

People that feel more of life tend to let the insane world get them depressed.

Machines cannot suffer depression, nor can they sense divinity.

AfterInfinity
reply to post by Liquesence

 

I employ calculated risk and that's it.

I am sorry you live your life like that.

Such a cold machine like way of living seems dead. Life has no meaning if it is all calculation and machine thinking. A machine is dead, you are not.

reply to post by LoneGunMan


Eh... Perhaps you read the study wrong, but it clearly says that 7% of the atheists still get depressed. So whatever you just said there is obviously not true.

@OP: I'd say it probably has to do with that little nagging thought in the back of religious people's heads, "What if it's all wrong..." These people devote their whole lives to their religion and over the course of their life as the religion fails to deliver, I'm sure they start getting depressed. You can even see some of it in this thread. Sure they are attributing it to "evil pervading the world," but let's be real here. Evil has always existed. It is just more in your face now because we have the internet, television, and radio. Obviously this doesn't effect all of them since most are blind believers and the ones that aren't become atheist or agnostic, but I'm sure it effects just enough of them to get that 3% boost over atheists.

reply to post by Thought Provoker


Yes this is what depresses me.

I will post a song that is very apt for this subject. Remember this line. The takers get the honey, the givers sing the blues.

I'll put in my 2 cents on why. I feel let down by the God I worship due to just when is enough of letting evil have freedom over what is supposed to be Heaven on Earth.
The evil far outweighs the good these days if you ask me. Just why is it so long to prove his ways are the right ways while I live in Hell on Earth.

Times up I think set it right already God.

Grimpachi

A new study concluded "there was no evidence of religion acting as a buffer to prevent depression after a serious life event."

Even if people's faith in religion makes them feel good right down to their souls, they are still more likely than an atheist to get depressed, according to a new study.

The study, published in the October issue of Psychological Medicine but online now, followed more than 8,000 people in rural and urban areas in seven countries for one year. During the research, they were each examined at six- and 12-month intervals.

In those time frames, 10.3 per cent of religious participants became depressed, compared with 7.0 per cent for atheists and 10.5 per cent for those with a "spiritual understanding of life," the study found.

The results also varied between country and religion. For example, spiritual participants from the U.K. were found to be more than three times more likely to be depressed than their secular counterparts.

Those who practised varying religions showed the highest rate of depression - 11.5 per cent - followed by Protestants at 10.9 per cent, those without a specific religion at 10.8 per cent, and Catholics at 9.8 per cent.

Along with the U.K., residents of Spain, Estonia, Portugal, Chile and the Netherlands were involved in the study, which is called "Spiritual and religious beliefs as risk factors for the onset of major depression: an international cohort study."

The researchers concluded "these results do not support the notion that religious and spiritual life views enhance psychological well-being. There was no evidence of religion acting as a buffer to prevent depression after a serious life event."

Despite only select countries being included in this new research, past studies have found the parts of the U.S. with the highest religious rates also have the highest depression rates, according to Guardian Express.

Link

Now here I thought it would be just the opposite based on conversations I have had. One report says if you attend church regularly the odds improve. Like a pep talk I guess. I am going to read the studies and see if they have a theory as to why people are more depressed than those without faith.

edit on 29-9-2013 by Grimpachi because: Link

Paint yourself into a philosophical corner, that presupposes sin/guilt/temptation by demons...and there's bound to be a form of hari kiri, dressed up as holus bolus redemption of a singular degree that ensues...no surprises...

But, as another poster has astutely written...pray your way out of it...there ain't nothing like shifting blame...

Å99

LoneGunMan
reply to post by Grimpachi

 

Its that there is something missing in the average atheist that does not let them feel the divine and that same thing that is missing makes them a little more machine like and a little less human like.

People that feel more of life tend to let the insane world get them depressed.

Machines cannot suffer depression, nor can they sense divinity.

WOW.. Not only do some religious try to say they are morally superior but you guys also think of the rest of humanity as nothing but mere machines.

I think I see where a certain person from WW2 felt justified committing atrocities. He thought it was his holy Christian duty but you know he felt people not like his chosen were less than human too.

Thanks for the insight into such minds.

I believe there are no theists, nor atheists. It's simply not possible as one cannot prove a negative, that there is no 'divinity'. Divinity comes from within and is the desire to better than one's surroundings, the desire to be better than the worst. When one realizes they have the power to create and destroy, they become god-like. When one chooses to use that power for their own personal gain, at the expense of others, they become demon-like.

Personally, I believe we all will end up in the same place, regardless of your core beliefs. Where or what that place is, I know not. Upon death, we may evaporate into nothing or consolidate into everything. If you believe in Karma, tread lightly. If you don't, I hope you're right.

Either way, hope to see you on the other side... or hope to not see you.

It's always interesting

how folks persistently !DEMAND! sources, documentation etc.

And then when I post them, they REFUSE to deal with them.

Cute.

Seems like a brazenly hypocritical attitude, imho. What cheek.

reply to post by BO XIAN


I find it amazing when someone posts a few excerpts without any kind of explanation then complains that people do not see their point of view.

I read them but I don't know what your point is or how they prove or disprove the OP.

reply to post by abecedarian


Exactly that is why agnosticism is the correct answer to the world's religious problem. It is more correct than atheism, since atheism deals in an absolute (that there is no god or gods). It also allows enough leeway for any religion on this planet to be correct by giving each one equal chance of being correct as well as the ones that haven't been invented yet.

reply to post by LoneGunMan

Its that there is something missing in the average atheist that does not let them feel the divine and that same thing that is missing makes them a little more machine like and a little less human like.

So the less we adhere to theism, the less human we become? That's a little harsh.

I am sorry you live your life like that.

Such a cold machine like way of living seems dead. Life has no meaning if it is all calculation and machine thinking. A machine is dead, you are not.

As opposed to acting impulsively, passionately and irrationally? I'm sure things would proceed so much better that way.