Schizophrenia and Christianity

Common Features between Christianity and Schizophrenia

Common religious behavior has a striking similarity with the symptoms of mental illness. Now, I'm not saying all Christians need to be hospitalized. Nor am I saying Atheists don't occasionally display symptoms of mental illness.

The question is instead, why would a true religion reveal itself, in the form of followers whose typical behaviors are analogous to a mental disease?


Schizophrenia is the ultimate in psychological breakdown. Its symptoms are dominated by gross distortions of reality, illogical delusions, and vivid hallucinations.

Schizophrenia is sometimes marked by intense emotional disturbances and a nightmarish sense of confusion. This is usually related to specific precipitating stresses. Isn't this the same as the turmoil and confusion which marks the point at which a person becomes a born-again Christian? Ask a Christian about his life before he became a Christian. Listen as he describes turmoil, and confusion.

Both the schizophrenic and the Christian live in a world filled with fantasy, illogical ideas, and invisible beings. Christians live in a world of gods, devils, angels, ghosts, heavens and hells. Is this reality, or the fantasy realm of the schizophrenic? The Christian believes in one god-the Father, the son and the Holy Ghost. It that logical thinking, or illogical?

Schizophrenics sometimes have false beliefs (delusions) that their thoughts are being monitored by aliens. A schizophrenic might believe his thoughts are being broadcast on his neighbor's television, or that communists are trying to take control of his brain. Likewise, the Christian believes that God monitors his thoughts, and the Devil is trying to control him.

Delusions of Grandeur and of persecution are typical schizophrenic symptoms. Christians have both delusions. The Christian believes in the grandiose delusion of immortality, and that he is a part of "God's Plan." He also believes that satanic, demonic influences are persecuting him, the world around him, and constantly luring him toward evil.

Hallucinations are common with schizophrenics. The most common ones are auditory. The patient hears voices, and believes they are real. Hallucinations can also be visual, gustatory (taste), somatic ("I can feel Jesus in my heart"), tactile "(I felt God touch me"), emotional or olfactory(smell). Doesn't the Christian "hear" God during praying, and don't some see "visions" that aren't really there?

Anhedonia has been said to be a primary sign of schizophrenia. That is, the schizophrenic typically is incapable of experiencing common everyday pleasures. How does this comment on the notion of some fundamentalists that playing cards, social drinking, dancing, sex, etc., are generally evil and to be avoided? How does this reflect on the typical Roman Catholic idea that our purpose in the world is to suffer?


Other features of mental illness with parallels in Christian behavior are Poverty of Speech Content (vagueness, empty repetition of meaningless obscure phrases), Poverty of Speech Amount (brief, unelaborated responses), Pressure of Speech (increased in amount, difficult to interrupt, loud and emphatic) , Incoherent Speech (speech which is not understandable), Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior (irresistible impulses to perform repeated irrational actions); Confabulation (fabrication of facts or events, usually not intentionally), and Illogical Thinking (clear, internal contradictions).

Why would a deity influence its worshippers in such a way as to make them appear as lunatics?

http://www.godisamyth.com/regs/ez/webdoc8.htm
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