How Does Religious Commitment Improve Mental Health

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Michelle Arauza
Does religious commitment improve mental health?

Reference 1:
Colby Cosh
Church: the happiest place on earth
April 29, 2013 http://go.galegroup.com.libdbmjc.yosemite.edu/ http://www2.macleans.ca/

This article begrudgingly admits that attending a religious service is improving mental health. A 14 year long study was conducted by interviewing 12, 583 people. These individuals were asked how regularly they attended a religious gathering, and how much they identified with religion and spirituality. Ultimately the study concluded that people who went to a religious gathering were 22 % less likely to become depressed in the future. This was compared to people who choose to not attend such gathering.

Reference 2:
Terry Goodrich …show more content…

This is due to the lack of personal involvement and intimacy they feel towards their God. These people don’t believe that their God will be there for them when they need him to be. As a result they feel alone and prone to anxiety. The outcome of prayer is largely based on the individual and how intimate they are when they pray. Ultimately, this article concludes that the effect that religion has on mental health is mostly unknown.

Reference 3:
Albert Ellis
Case Against Religion: A Psychotherapists View and the Case Against Religiosity
April, 1980 http://www.amazon.com/ In this book Ellis states that once you have acknowledged that there is something bigger than you that has some sort of control over your life you are religious. People who are religious are so concerned with following the word of God that they cannot have ideas of their own. Ellis argues that being religious is being masochistic. This is due to the constant need to repent for experiencing life or pleasure. He also states that to be truly religious an individual must whole heartedly believe that their religion is ,in its entirety true, and that every other belief system is wholly

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