A study found that people professing to be
spiritual, but not conventionally religious, were more likely to suffer from a
host of mental challenges.
Their demons included abnormal eating
conditions, drug abuse, anxiety disorder, phobias and neurosis.
People who are spiritual, but not religious,
are more likely to have mental health issues
They were also more likely than others to be
taking medication for mental health problems.
Professor Michael King, from University
College London, and his fellow researchers wrote in the British Journal of
Psychiatry: “Our main finding is that people who had a spiritual understanding
of life had worse mental health than those with an understanding that was
neither religious nor spiritual.”
The study was based on a survey of 7,403
randomly selected men and women in England who were questioned about their
spiritual and religious beliefs, and mental state.
Of the participants, 35% described themselves
as “religious”, meaning they attended a church, mosque, synagogue or temple. The
vast majority of this group (86%) were Christian.
A further 19% claimed to have spiritual
beliefs or experiences without following a specific religion, while 46% were
neither religious nor spiritual.
More than nine out of 10 were white British,
with an average age of 46.
Of the different groups, spiritual people
were 50% more likely to have a generalised anxiety disorder and 72% more likely
to suffer from a phobia.
They also had a 77% higher chance of being
dependent on drugs and were 37% more at risk of neurotic disorder.
Spirituality was also associated with a 40%
greater likelihood of receiving treatment with psychotropic drugs.
Individuals of religious faith and those with
none experienced equal levels of mental problems, the study found.
But there were fewer problems with drugs or
alcohol among the faithful.
Unlike some American studies, the new
research found no clear relationship between religious belief and happiness.
One recent large internet study in the US
reported that non-religious people with spiritual beliefs were emotionally less
stable than other groups. However, they made up only 2% of the study sample.
The researchers wrote: “We conclude that
there is increasing evidence that people who profess spiritual beliefs in the
absence of a religious framework are more vulnerable to mental disorder.
“The nature of this association needs greater
examination in qualitative and in prospective quantitative research.”
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