Addiction: Religious Devotion Annotated Bibliography Sanjam Sahni COMM 2367: Persuasive Communication Melissa Abo January 26, 2018 ADDICTION: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION Addiction: Religious Devotion Annotated Bibliography “THERE’S THE UBIQUITOUS MOOD LIGHTING SO THAT YOU CAN ONLY SEE WHAT’S MEANT TO BE SEEN…. LOUD MUSIC ENSURES YOU HEAR ONLY WHAT IS MEANT TO BE HEARD…. SEVERAL HIGH-ENERGY WARM-UP ACTS MAKE YOU FEEL ONLY WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO FEEL…. BY THE TIME THE FEATURED ATTRACTION STEPS ON STAGE … YOU’RE SO AMPED UP YOU’LL HAND OVER YOUR BODY, SOUL, AND WALLET. IT DOESN’T EVEN OCCUR TO YOU THAT THIS MIGHT BE DESTRUCTIVE, BECAUSE FEELING ELATED IS THE DESIRED OUTCOME.” – Elizabeth Esther (in her book, Sober Spirituality) Religious Devotion under addiction? It may sound strange but the negative effects of getting addicted to being devoted to a religion is not given enough attention and there's a dire need to have more conversations surrounding this topic because it has the potential to be extremely harmful. In recent decades, the idea of recovery from addiction to religion has taken root and the growing awareness is testament to the fact that being addicted to a religion is a very real possibility and the victims of this addiction need to be helped. Winell, M. (2011, July 13). Journey Free. Retrieved from http://journeyfree.org/rts/ Journey Free is committed to helping people find their way out of a harmful religion, recover from the distress caused by it and get their lives back on track. Religious Trauma Syndrome(RTS) is experienced by people who are suffering by involuntarily following an authoritarian, dogmatic religion. They might be dealing with a drastic change in their feelings towards a personally meaningful religion and are struggling to leave a controlling community. RTS is a function of both the long-term abuses of a harmful religion and the impact of breaking away from it. It is comparable to a combination of PTSD and C-PTSD. One of the listed causes of RTS is suppression of normal child development which links back to the Religion and Addiction article that talks about how religion can turn into a harmful addiction specially in the case of children who experienced trauma or abuse while growing up. The home page has information to spread awareness about the psychological distress caused by the cycle of abuse in religions which makes said person feel guilty and makes them believe that they face eternal punishment. It also talks about how to stop this cycle by letting go of the need to follow each and every rule of a religion without thinking about it thoroughly. This article proves that the problem I’m talking about is very real and hence I find it particularly useful. It even talks about the problem in detail by explaining how there’s an assumption in our society that religion is good for the most part. The problem gets intensified because therapists don’t understand that simply not going to the place of worship doesn’t help the person get better from the abuse they have faced at the hands of a particular religion. The same point is discussed in the "The God Drug" article by Valerie Taco as the withdrawal symptoms in recovery from addiction to a religion are as evident as the symptoms seen in someone recovering from a chemical drug addiction. The founder and director of this organization is Marlene Winnell who is not only a Ph.D. psychologist but has also been working in religious recovery for over 25 years. This source has several client referrals which further demonstrates its credibility. ADDICTION: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION Gostečnik, C., Cvetek, M., Poljak, S., Repič, T., & Cvetek, R. (2012, December 01). Religion and Addiction. Journal of Religion and Health, 51, 4, 1165-1171. doi: 10.1007/s10943-010-9424-x This article posits that religion and rituals have the potential to become an addiction. It focuses on how this is more likely to happen in the case of children who have had a troubled childhood due to neglect or abuse. It goes into detail about three types of personalities: Adaptive, Aggressive and Abused and it talks about how people with these personalities are affected by their religion or their god. Individuals with an adaptive personality tend to form the image of a punitive God. They will choose to neglect their scars and blame the people around them instead of dealing with their issues because doing the former would mean risking God’s wrath. A merely innocent resistance to even the smallest demand of a single ritual triggers an underlying fear of God’s abandonment which they perceive as total abandonment and fatally threatening. It also talks about how some people who have faced cruel emotional and physical abuse form aggressive personalities and seek revenge by transferring their hateful emotions to others “in the name of religion” as they are flooded with aggression they simply cannot regulate themselves. The article also makes some very important points while talking about people with abused personalities and how such people who are victims of sexual abuse start to think of themselves as dirty and disgusting. They think there is something terribly wrong with them and that their life has been tainted with shame. This article supports my idea of religion turning into an addiction and talks about various situations wherein the obsessive addiction to following and believing in God can be very harmful to people, specially people who have experienced trauma while growing up. Also, this source talks about something that isn't talked about enough. If a religious person were to come across my topic they might disregard it instantly because they may not know someone who has been a victim of neglect or abuse. It might open their eyes to the possibility that even if they haven't ever felt that religion can be harmful, it has the potential to be dangerous for people who have had to live through trauma and hence are vulnerable to the negative impact religion can have in one's life. Robert Cvetek, the author, received his Ph.D. in Psychology at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana in 2005 has nearly a decade of experience in researching the way religion affects people. This article has been published in a peer-reviewed journal which further illustrates its credibility. Tarico, V. (2016, September 2). The God Drug: When Religion Becomes an Addiction. Pacific Standard. Retrieved from https://psmag.com/news/the-god-drug-when-religion-becomes-anaddiction Valerie Tarico's September 206 article in Pacific Standard talks about religion while comparing it to a drug in the literal sense. It does a wonderful job at explaining the addiction aspect of it and how it could be harmful. It starts off with Brandon Osborn, a victim of abuse who was raised in the branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Even though he quit believing in god as a teenager after seeing how the religion became a harmful addiction in his life he feared hell and damnation until he was 35! His description of how religion can be an imposed addiction ADDICTION: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION is a powerful one, he says “I consider religion to be an imposed addiction — no different than holding a baby and shooting it up with small doses of heroin, increasing the doses as the baby grows, Religion is as poisonous and as attractive, to many, as heroin. It is the opiate of the masses.’ I’m still recovering from it. Part of my recovery is helping others get free.” This source is particularly useful in conveying my message because it answers the question everyone would have in their minds while figuring out why I’m talking about religious devotion under addiction as there’s undoubtedly a huge number of devout religious people living happy and successful lives. It talks about how a good number of users can use pleasurable neurotoxins like alcohol, cocaine or MDMA in moderation. The same is logically true of pleasures induced by religion which include feeling euphoric, hopeful, secure and purposeful. Although something that isn’t given enough attention is that these feelings invoked by religion have the potential for poor outcomes for people who fail to retain their capacity for autonomy and balance. Just like going cold turkey to recover from drug abuse has the potential for withdrawal symptoms, abruptly quitting a religion has the same effect. This is illustrated by another quote mentioned in the article which is said by a person in recovery. He says "“Despite the fact that I’ve intellectually broken from Christianity, however, I cannot seem to let go of my beliefs. Every single day is a nightmare, plagued with mild panic attacks, de-realization, doubt, OCD, etc.” This source is highly credible as it includes testimonies from the patients of Marlene Winell who has years of experience working with people who identify as being in recovery from addiction to religion and is also the founder of Journey Free. At the end of the day, the question of religion being addictive or not comes down to similar questions one can ask themselves about a drug addiction. Has the religion ruined your life? Do you believe that your decision to follow it has been autonomous or coerced? Do the good things really weight out the bad ones? And are the good things coming freely or do they come at a price? Is it worth it? If someone finds themselves answering yes to any of these questions they need to get professional help as this addiction can severely impact their self-esteem, relationships, personal empowerment and general well-being. In the recent past, mental health illness wasn't given the necessary attention and voice and people refused to think of it as the serious illness it is. I feel like it is the same for the addiction to a religion that's having a negative impact. More voices need to be heard. More conversations need to take place. People who are suffering need to be helped.
