And God Shall Strike Ye with Paranoid Schizophrenia

If you’ve ever known any hardcore sanctimonious Biblehumpers, this latest research probably isn’t surprising.  People who believe in an angry god are more likely to suffer from certain mental disorders.

These findings have been published in the Journal of Religion and Health, April edition.  The research was conducted by Marymount Manhattan College Assistant Psychology Professor Nava Silton.  She used data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey of American adults.

The research was based on three types of believers:  people who believe in an angry vengeful god, people who believe in a loving god, and a third “neutral” category that doesn’t see God as angry, loving, bigoted, kind and gentle, or any other particular personality trait.

People who believe in a loving forgiving god are more likely to have positive psychological traits.  The researcher, Nava Silton, described them as “almost protecting against psychopathology.”

And what about those people who believe in an angry vengeful punishing god?  Nava Silton says: “That belief seems to be very much related to these negative symptoms.”

“These negative symptoms” include social phobias, paranoia, obsession, compulsion, and anxiety disorders.

I guess we should feel sympathy for these people.

Nah.