Spiritual, but not religious? A dangerous mix
The prevalence of mental disorders among those who 'do God' alone is an indictment of churches' failure to meet their needs People who are "spiritual but not religious" are more likely to suffer poor mental health, according to a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry . Michael King of University College London and his colleagues examined 7,400 interviews with folk in Britain, of whom 35% had a religious understanding of life, 19% a spiritual one and 46% neither a religious nor spiritual outlook. The analysis led to one clear conclusion. "People who have a spiritual understanding of life in the absence of a religious framework are vulnerable to mental disorder [dependence on drugs, abnormal eating attitudes, anxiety, phobias and neuroses]." The work supports evidence from other studies too. All the usual weaknesses associated with asking individuals about religion are at play here, as the authors acknowledge. Nonetheless, the study promp...