http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_depression
In the above link, www.conservapedia.com claims that atheism causes depression. And as I'm going to write, I believe this could be possible (but not directly because of atheism, but because of laziness).
Yes, it is possible that atheists are more likely to be depressed than theists. Atheists tend to not believe that life has a purpose (one of those falsely associated beliefs with atheism). Atheists simply need to do a better job thinking about purpose/meaning of life. It is not that religion is amazing in this department, it's just that atheists are not handed meaning and purpose from a book—atheists must come up with these things on their own. For those atheists that believe we are just chemicals and the product of chance, and that life has no meaning, such a worldview would obviously cause depression. Atheists are free to believe anything other than a god (to maintain their atheism). For example, an atheist can believe in souls and destiny (I do). Everyone should find meaning and purpose in life, religion does this easily, atheism requires work in this area. Atheists do no necessarily have to be more depressed.
Religion perhaps does create a greater sense of well-being. Believing that there is a God that is holding people accountable probably helps clear up psychological turmoil created by the immoral. Chaos (the true nature of the universe) is not psychologically beneficial to be aware of, a false sense of order no doubt can be helpful. The image of an evil person burning in hell creates a sense of balance in the minds of believers.
I have thought about depression linked to atheism, mostly because I "suffer" from both. But as I see it, me becoming an atheist a couple of years back gave me a clearer view on life and got my out of my existential crisis and got me to start dealing with reality instead of looking for answers in a spiritual way, which only wasted my time.
ReplyDeleteI'm better of seeing the truth as it is and dealing with it instead of moping around, feeling that life had dealt me a bad hand.
Yeah, same here. I used to have major problems with depression, now the depression is not constant (it's mild when it does show up). I tend to find the best way to deal with depression is think positive thoughts (and avoid negative thoughts), and not over-think things (i.e. negative memories/emotions). For me, I've found my emotional state to be reflective of the kind of thoughts I've been thinking over the past days/weeks.
ReplyDeleteThe problem new atheists can have is if they used things like prayer as a coping mechanism, or if they find themselves with a contradictory worldview (a chaotic worldview can be stressful, leading to depression/anxiety).
How on earth can you believe in "souls and destiny" if you are an atheist? I am genuinely interested in your answer.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a post about destiny awhile ago (http://www.atheistperspective.net/2011/05/2-spiritual-atheist-destiny-is-real.html)
ReplyDeleteAlso, as far as the soul is concerned. The soul = the self. In other words, the soul is what is left when all we possess is lost.
The soul may be something very basic and unconscious. Either way, we ARE something...and considering the law of conservation of energy, we all (our true being..no matter how simplistic) possess immortality.
As an ex-Atheist, I used to struggle with depression, but also have discovered meaning in life beyond our finite way of comprehension of the metaphysical. I would suggest that you watch "The Quantum Activist"...
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