Can relligion be a addtion? | lunnas's Blog

What do you think? can religing be a addiction?

Could My Friend Have An Addiction To Religion?

Dear Rita,

I  do not belong to any organized religion, though I did grow up in one due to my parents’ beliefs.  Recently a friend of mine has been trying to get me to go to her church with her.  I think she is kind of fanatical about her religion to the point that I wonder if she’s not “addicted” in some way to her religion or the church.

Any advice you can give me would be helpful, or maybe I should just quit being her friend. I’ve known her for several years.  I can’t mention the specific name of the church as that may identify her and her family.

Thanks,

“Wary of religions”

Dear Wary,

Thank you for writing. Your question, no doubt, opens up a big can of worms.  You don’t really say what religion your friend is involved in, or how long she’s been involved with it, but to ditch her as a friend, just because she believes differently than you do, would not say much about the depth and level of the friendship.  People become enthusiastic about many things; books, environmentalism, a certain kind of car, or animal rights, just to name a few.  Whenever anyone experiences a positive change in their life, or becomes involved in a cause, they want to tell everyone about it and get them to see and understand why it is so important to them.

For many people, religions offer safety and acceptance, social structure and connectedness, as well as an opportunity for moral guidance.  Some people become involved for a short time, others make it a lifetime commitment.  Try sitting down with your friend and exchanging information with her about beliefs. You might learn much about what prompted her involvement in the religion in the first place.  Don’t set out to change her mind,  but to gather information and better understand her.   Start with “I believe ____, what do you believe?”  I think I should mention here also, that many people consider themselves spiritual but not religious, and there are many ideas about what spirituality can be.  Some people see them as one and the same, others believe there is a distinct difference between the two.

According to Leo Booth, author of When God Becomes A Drug, a person can, indeed, become addicted to religion.  He writes that there are symptoms by which to determine the possibility that someone is “addicted” to their religion. These include, but are not limited to; “black and white simplistic thinking, shame based belief that “God will fix you”, uncompromising judgemental attitudes, and progressive detachment from the real-world, isolation, and breakdown of relationships.” (Booth 1991)  To see the entire list and learn more about the stages of religious addiction, I recommend buying the book.  So to answer your question, yes, religion can become an addiction for certain types of personalities.  I have no doubt that there are many who will disagree with that statement and that’s okay.  It is what our freedom of speech and thought is all about.

I would like to ask, “What are you learning about yourself in this situation with your friend?”  When someone we love makes a change in their life, it can be unsettling and cause us to look at our own situation.   For example, think about someone you know who may have separated or divorced unexpectedly without any warning signs that it was coming. You just heard one day that they were no longer together.  How did that affect the way you looked at your own relationships?

If you are interested in learning more about religious addiction, leaving a religion, or spiritual abuse, there are many many books and studies written on the topics.  You can find them through Amazon.com or by googling the topics.

Thanks again for writing.

my sister in law is the poster child for

being addicted to GOD,

Iknow saying this isnt nice

or its judgemental but

shes going to this one

ladys church expecting

her to raise from the dead

some one. thats another blog...

but she goes to church

monday threw monday

she feels we are all going

to h ell speaking about me and my husband going to h ell .she used to put prayer cloths all over my house we found all of them

when we were moving, we kinda laughted

but where we found some of the prayer cloths we in my bed frame , it wasnt funny anyone becalse that ment she broke into my house without my concent.  i call her a sneekie ''christan'' and her i cant trust .