-
Quote
-
0
login to like this post
Post
by lagimoana » Fri, 14 Apr 2017 3:03 pm
Given how many people are not concerned with religion (this includes most religious followers, who are probably more interested in traditions and community, than in the concepts/precepts of their particular religion), perhaps adult/new converts tend to have factors in their lives that have driven them toward religion - toward an alternative understanding of life (unresolved childhood or adolescent trauma, for example).
I think it was New Scientist, that reported on a study linking religiosity with mental illness. I think a link between genes and religiosity has also been suggested. Perhaps it was all the same study, suggesting a link between a particular gene, and an increased likelihood of both schizophrenia and religiosity.
So people who are very religious, regardless of the age of their conversion, are perhaps genetically more susceptible to disorganised cognition, and an impaired capacity for decision making. Put simply, "God told me to do it" could be the same phenomenon as "The voices told me to do it." In that case, it has more to do with the mental health of the individual, than their interaction with religion.