4 ms·

Good instincts. The word 'Morgellon' in turn reminds me of Scientology. I hate to betray a bias here, but I wonder what percentage of that group are or were fai

Good instincts. The word 'Morgellon' in turn reminds me of Scientology. I hate to betray a bias here, but I wonder what percentage of that group are or were fairly religious? I know someone like this, and they were heavily involved with their church (Christian).

mercer 10y ago
There could be an overlap. While I don't know if this has been researched, my experience in Evangelic and Pentecostal churches is that it has a really high number of people who have mental disorders. That's not a cheeky militant atheist comment, by the way. I'm not counting the average church member who believes things that to most (or at least many) of us is crazy. Honestly, it was really nice to see. Many of these people suffered greatly outside of and before their church life, but as part of a community that itself was considered 'acceptably crazy' by much of society, and a community that strongly emphasizes care for each other, they often thrived and, interestingly, their symptoms often decreased. For example, prophecy was a relatively common element of church life. There were special services where there was 'more room for the holy spirit', and people could share what I would call 'intuitions', which could range from a premonitory dream they had to a full-blown vision. This was catnip for people with 'known' mental issues, but the mere fact that their visions were given room and a measure of respect seemed to actually help them 'get better'. What was fascinating about all this to me was that there was, in fact, a huge difference between the average church goer and the 'mentally ill' person sharing a prophecy, even if on a rational level I consider both prophecies to be fundamentally delusional (and I don't mean that in a derogatory way). I've long been meaning to dive into this again, or look into research on the matter, because it's just so incredibly weird to experience a bunch of people acting, by some measures, insane and yet noticing a marked difference between those who are 'otherwise normal' and those who are not, even as a nonbeliever.
- MandieD 10y ago
  I think we humans just have varying levels of need for the irrational, and it's best for everyone that the irrational be safely available - which includes a certain degree of social acceptability. "Acceptable crazy," as you say. Note the increase in Icelandic belief in elves as their society's attachment to Christianity wanes... My personal favorite flavor of irrationality: liberal Christianity - the Episcopal Church, to be precise. Just enough of the mysterious and traditional ritual, paired with acceptance of the reality we must share with everyone. We voted to offer same-sex marriages church-wide a few days after the US Supreme Court required it nationwide, and have long believed that science is best left to the scientists. But it's probably not enough irrationality to satisfy most people, as every time we shed a little of the irrational, we shed members.

mercer 10y ago

There could be an overlap. While I don't know if this has been researched, my experience in Evangelic and Pentecostal churches is that it has a really high number of people who have mental disorders. That's not a cheeky militant atheist comment, by the way. I'm not counting the average church member who believes things that to most (or at least many) of us is crazy. Honestly, it was really nice to see. Many of these people suffered greatly outside of and before their church life, but as part of a community that itself was considered 'acceptably crazy' by much of society, and a community that strongly emphasizes care for each other, they often thrived and, interestingly, their symptoms often decreased. For example, prophecy was a relatively common element of church life. There were special services where there was 'more room for the holy spirit', and people could share what I would call 'intuitions', which could range from a premonitory dream they had to a full-blown vision. This was catnip for people with 'known' mental issues, but the mere fact that their visions were given room and a measure of respect seemed to actually help them 'get better'. What was fascinating about all this to me was that there was, in fact, a huge difference between the average church goer and the 'mentally ill' person sharing a prophecy, even if on a rational level I consider both prophecies to be fundamentally delusional (and I don't mean that in a derogatory way). I've long been meaning to dive into this again, or look into research on the matter, because it's just so incredibly weird to experience a bunch of people acting, by some measures, insane and yet noticing a marked difference between those who are 'otherwise normal' and those who are not, even as a nonbeliever.

MandieD 10y ago
I think we humans just have varying levels of need for the irrational, and it's best for everyone that the irrational be safely available - which includes a certain degree of social acceptability. "Acceptable crazy," as you say. Note the increase in Icelandic belief in elves as their society's attachment to Christianity wanes... My personal favorite flavor of irrationality: liberal Christianity - the Episcopal Church, to be precise. Just enough of the mysterious and traditional ritual, paired with acceptance of the reality we must share with everyone. We voted to offer same-sex marriages church-wide a few days after the US Supreme Court required it nationwide, and have long believed that science is best left to the scientists. But it's probably not enough irrationality to satisfy most people, as every time we shed a little of the irrational, we shed members.