This is a remake of the previous thread, and yes I have received approval. A mod is keeping an eye on this thread, and if it does not get anywhere in the next few days it will be moved or locked.
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There's nothing embarrassing about a mental disorder, so please don't panic. It's not some incurable disease. So don’t get offended, and don’t get offensive. People allover the world have different types of mental disorders to this day, and are functioning fine. Some mental disorders even associate with creativity!

One thing to clarify: This is not discussing the 'validity' of any religion. It is already clear that there is -no- point in debating on religion, as it is analogous to the futility of discussing the existence of flying pigs. We already know religion is utter nonsense, and that is the starting point of this discussion. Please ignore the religious posters that retaliate to this thread (which may likely overwhelm in percentage), and just imagine them to be little insects flying around. DO NOT RESPOND.

What some people see as stubborn prejudice may in fact be the result of a mental disorder, and not the person’s free-will or autonomy at fault. Who said religion causes war? Look deeper. Religion doesn’t cause war, religion causes conflict. An inevitable conflict in beliefs, contradictory to open-mindedness. This mental disorder epidemic has been killing the element of empathy in people for centuries, and it’s about time that we pinpoint this problem, one person at a time.



Note 1: I am aware that "mental disorders" are subjective depending on perspective of normality. I’m speaking from a scientific perspective; however I’m still very aware that from the religious majority it would not labelled a mental disorder. It’s the same as how Santa Claus is very real for a group of 5 year-olds, however when a couple of adults step in the “perspective of normality” changes, and Santa Claus is in fact, very unreal. Like I previously stated, whether God exists or does not exist is irrelevant.

Note 2: Of course, this is merely a generalisation. There are always going to be exceptions, for example I am not including Shintoism in this claim. In fact, feel free to substitute the word “religion” with “Christianity” for this entire post, as the point being conveyed will still essentially be the same. However understand that I am not trying to discriminate Christianity, I’m only suggesting this to encourage a smooth interpretation of my post.

What causes the implant of religion into the human brain? Generally religion is a result of nurture from parenting and surrounding culture. It’s primarily a result of "where you were raised", and of course, if a modern day Christian were instead brought up in India, the likelihood of converting to Christianity after adulthood would be extremely unlikely.





Preoperational stage (2-7):

The stage of curiosity and gullibility. Children at this age are productively curious and seek new knowledge of the outside world. The development of the child’s views and beliefs are primarily influenced by imitation of peers (such as parents), and the child is at a very defenceless mentality against the implantation of religious beliefs. At this stage the child is very egocentric.

Child: Daddy, why did Grandma die?
Father: Son, she didn’t die. She’s in heaven at peace with God, watching over us.

Concrete operational stage (7-11):

Egocentricism is supposed to start declining. The child’s problem solving skills start to improve, though there’s still difficulty in formulating abstract concepts, deductive reasoning, and general comprehension.

The implantation of religion maintains egocentricism in the child, thus impedes with this natural developmental process.

Formal operational stage (11+):

The child starts to develop the ability to look at things from a logical perspective. The child gains the ability of deductive reasoning, abstract thinking, and most importantly, empathy. (Look up ethnocultural empathy; it’s relatively easy to identify a religious individual lacking it. See all the people using Pascal’s Wager as an argument to support their religion?)

Note: It is an accepted fact that many people to this day fail to fully reach this stage of cognitive development. What can I say … religion is, enforcing this?

Can you see where this is getting at? Religion impedes with the natural cognitive developmental process.

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Here is an example of a monke- I mean an individual that lacks the element of empathy:



Notice how this individual indicated that he respects all other religions, yet completely contradicted that statement afterwards by implying that atheists are better off not taking the risk because: they will either go to hell for not believing in god, or nothing will happen at all. That is implying that the only possible religion is his own religion and he is leaving out all others in the equation, such as the possibility of reincarnation, turning into a ghost, being reborn into a chicken, etc. Through this observation, we can see that this individual is still stuck at the egocentric stage of cognitive development. It’s become a blind-spot in rational reasoning, which is clearly counterproductive.

Here is another example: http://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-664445/what-ever-happened-to-morals-and-waiting-until-marriage

^This time, it’s your turn to spot the problem.

As demonstrated in the above examples, all over the world there is an ongoing impediment in logical thinking due to the advocacy of religion. It is an impairment of an individual’s normal cognitive functioning, caused by social factors; therefore it is a mental disorder. Also yes, this implies that Pascal himself had a mental disorder too. As I mentioned earlier, it is an accepted fact that some individuals fail to fully reach the formal operational stage, and only reach it in relation to their area of expertise (maths, sports, etc.). This was the case with Pascal, who was a reputable mathematician.

This raises the issue of whether the "good intentions" in parenting is associated with the development of this mental disorder. Similar to how mommy’s goodnight kiss, an expression of love, is one of the main causes of tooth decay in childhood.



Can’t think of anything to say about the topic? How about suggest an effective means of objective communication with the religious, in attempt to amend the suggested lacking areas?

Implantation of religion is like penile circumcision at birth. It’s not a matter of right or wrong, and it does hold its benefits. However circumcision becomes the decision of the parents, and not the child’s. Essentially it is an infringement of the child’s natural endowments and entitlements, which is also why paedophilia is considered immoral. The child is not involved in the decision-making, as it is not capable. It becomes an obstacle to reverse the decision or belief later on in life, thus becomes an infringement of free-will. If religion was not taught to people until adulthood, it would not contradict free-will.

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Things to avoid (incomplete):

Positive feedback:

Do -NOT- ask God if he is real or not. It will only worsen the condition.



Treatment methods (incomplete):

Look at the other possibilities. Constantly question your beliefs. Is it at least POSSIBLE, that, maybe in fact your religion is result of a few creative minds exploiting the gullibility of human beings centuries ago, whom you never met. Afterwards, is it LIKELY that people in the past generations considered exploiting human gullibility in the case of YOUR religion, as the other religions aside from yours were obviously the result of the same idea. Study the other religions. Open your mind, and think outside the square.

EDIT:

Please ignore the two posts below mine. It is a perfect example of why it needs to be ignored.