Belief in Meaning, Other Religious Beliefs, Religious Doubt, and Mental Health

Abstract

This chapter highlights the most important findings from Chaps. 22, 23, and 24, including the association of mental health with belief in (a) meaning in life, (b) forgiveness from God, (c) Satan, (d) human evil, and (e) biblical literalism, as well as (f) the association of mental health with religious doubt. For example, the belief that there is meaning and purpose in life and the belief that one has been forgiven by God have salubrious associations with mental health, and psychiatric symptomology, in particular. Belief in Satan and human evil, on the other hand, have pernicious associations with psychiatric symptoms, especially paranoid ideation. My own analysis of data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey found that believing the Bible is literally true is associated with paranoid ideation. Moreover, the chapter describes how belief in Biblical literalism appears to affect the utilization of mental-health services. In addition, the chapter discusses how doubts about one’s religious beliefs have a pernicious effect on psychological well-being and psychiatric symptoms, which is more pronounced for individuals who have a stronger religious commitment than for other individuals. The findings are interpreted within the framework of ETAS Theory.