Why is belief in God not a delusion?

Religious beliefs and delusions tend to be puzzling to those who do not share them, often violating established biological and physical principles. Indeed, some scholars have suggested that there is no meaningful difference between religious belief and delusion. This suggestion, however, has serious...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Ross, Robert M. (Author) ; McKay, Ryan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge 2017
In: Religion, brain & behavior
Year: 2017, Volume: 7, Issue: 4, Pages: 316-319
Further subjects:B Belief
B Delusion
B Religion
B Culture
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Religious beliefs and delusions tend to be puzzling to those who do not share them, often violating established biological and physical principles. Indeed, some scholars have suggested that there is no meaningful difference between religious belief and delusion. This suggestion, however, has serious pragmatic limitations, as it effectively pathologizes billions of people. We propose that a core research goal should be to develop a comprehensive and nuanced theory of belief formation - and malformation - that encompasses religious beliefs and delusions, yet elucidates the differences between them. Such a theory will recognize the importance of culture in psychiatric diagnosis, without ruling out the possibility of group delusions.
ISSN:2153-5981
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion, brain & behavior
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/2153599X.2016.1249917