Anxiety and Religion

I am going to tread as carefully as a person carrying a bomb walking over the remains of a glass bowl that is strewn over a pebble floor , with a timer counting down ….. this subject could be explosive !

What is the definition of religion ?

Well according to Very well Mind .com , Religion is a set of organised beliefs , practices and systems that most often relate to the belief and worship of a controlling force , such as a personal God or another supernatural being .

I think I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Im white and European , brought up as a Catholic . I was so lucky as a child though , I was one of three white children in my class . My class was made up of Iranians , Pakistanis , Indians , Chinese, Afghans and many more in fact my mother used to call my friends and I the United Nations when we got together . Not only did I get fantastic feasts from around the world when I visited their homes , but I got a close understanding of their religions and just how important it was to their families. We were friends , we didn’t care that someone wore a turban or some were fasting , we just accepted each other as we were and thats what I would like to do here. When I use the term religion , please take it as a melting pot of everything and not that I’m promoting one over another, I know better than that. In fact to prove a point I will refer to religion as Spirituality from here on …….

Spirituality and Health

Lets dive straight in then , Ive ordered a coffee and a large almond pastry , I have the afternoon off from school and the coffee shop is nice and quiet ..( except for the lady talking into her laptop over zoom …we can all hear your business dear !….) .

Lucchetti G , Koenig and Lucchetti A published an article in September 2021 titled ‘ Spirituality, religion and mental health : A review of the current scientific evidence ‘.

They start their paper by acknowledging that this is a growing area for study , although the field has had difficulties in defining spirituality . The authors point out that someone can be spiritual even if they have low levels of religiousness . The authors set the current scene noting that many prestigious organisations such as the American Medical Association , now recognise the role of spirituality in clinical practice.

The authors point out that most investigations into this field look at the relationship between depressive symptoms and spirituality . The biggest of these being Smith al in 2003 , the study a meta analysis (remember these are summaries of statistical data) looked at 147 previous papers , this incorporated over 100,000 individuals who participated ( Sorry Ive just had to stop as Ive dropped my almond pastry on the floor ….is it right that Im still going to eat it after a quick dust off?….oh well ). Anyways , back eventually to the point , the study found that there was an inverse correlation between depression and spirituality , basically a complicated way of saying depression was better in those with spiritual beliefs. I don’t know about you but this doesn’t surprise me , spirituality in most cases evokes feelings of purpose , of a greater good, of not being alone of being loved , not things I associate with depression . The results of the Smith study were confirmed by the more recent A.W Braam 2017 study ( Pub Med 2019 257;428-438) where 152 studies were reviewed where 49% reported a better course of depression for those considered to be spiritual ( to be fair 41% showed no significant association ). Just to further cement this point Balbuena et al 2013 ( Canadian Psychiatry 58; 225-232) , a Canadian study of 12583 individuals found that if participants were at least monthly attendees of religious institutions then they were a full 22%less likely to experience depression . We said above that we can be spiritual without being religious , so I wonder if this hold true to spiritual people who are not church/Mosque/synagogue attendees ….just a thought.

It’s important to not get bogged down in just western countries as many publications tend to do , people all around the world suffer anxiety , trauma and depression and we all need answers. Looking at Japan (Psychiatry Clinic Neurosci 2020 74: 535-541) Kobayashi et al the results above were not confirmed , in fact they were the opposite ( also highlighted in G. Lucchettis research ) , 67723 religious ( I know I said I would call it spiritual ) adults from Japan were compared to non religious adults and found they were more likely to suffer from major depressive disorders . These findings also are repeated in a South American study ( Santero et al 2019 ) and Fernandez -Nino et al 2019 BMC public health 19;460 that looked at China , India , Ghana Mexico , Russia and South Africa ( are they the BRIC countries ? ) anyway they found no difference between religious or non religious adults in regards to depression . It just goes to show that just when you think you have proved a link , someone else brings out an article to throw that link in doubt . Of course there are cultural differences between countries , freedoms to practice , types of religions and these will have to be taken into account.

Let’s move on from depression and look at anxiety , here there has been a lot less research than in the field of depression . Before I look at current research , just a personal view , I feel that anxious people looking for answers can tend to look at spirituality or religion as an area to try , to seek a cure . I wonder if researchers take that into account when looking at the numbers of anxious individuals that would consider themselves religious or spiritual and also anxious .

It seems that research into anxiety and spirituality is a mixed bag for example Davis TL et al 2003 (J Psychol Theol 31:356-365) found a relationship between lower anxiety and religion , but others in similar studies found no correlation . Koenig et al ( I know 1998 is a long time ago ) in American journal of Psychiatry 155:536-542 found that reported that 49% of 299 studies reported a positive relationship with anxiety , 40% reported no change and 11% had a negative effect on anxiety . Giancarlo Lucchetti who we have been quoting above from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in Brazil in his peer reviewed paper concludes that there is some good evidence that religion or spirituality for a positive impact in cases of depression , however limited studies into anxiety needs to be rectified.

Ive found a lot of stuff on the internet relating to this subject , however Ive been unable to include it as it is mostly biased one way or another , thats not what we want on this site , we need something unbiased and backed by independent research . I did find some examples of how religion can lead to trauma ( I write this as a religious person , just to be open ) . The new York times published an article in 2019 stating that some churches can ” weaponise scripture and religion to do very deep damage to the psyche ” ( an anonymous paster) . The Times describes the trauma and anxiety caused as ” religious Trauma Syndrome “. Examples are given for those who are beaten for religious infractions , failing to learn verses from religious texts leaving sufferers phobic for years. In fact Dr Harold Koenig from Duke University was integral in developing ” religious cognitive therapy” to challenge the dysfunctional thoughts that develop through religious trauma syndrome. Those who describe themselves as part of the L.G.B.T group also frequently feel they have been traumatised by religious condemnation , I realise this is a controversial area, I am just reporting , not commenting .

Ive found quite a few posts from individuals on Reddit that claim religion has given them anxiety , one writer talks of his family trying to push their beliefs on him . Another who quotes an experience with nuns and abuse in Ireland , one who says that their Catholic upbringing made them full of shame and tormented by intrusive thoughts. There are an equal number of posts stating the opposite one writer says that belief that you are created by and valuable to God boosts your self esteem , he goes on to state that it is proven to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety .

Lets come right up to date to finish this tip toe around religion , anxiety and depression with an article published in BMC Psychiatry ( Aggarwal, Wright , Morgan Patterson and Really BMC 23 729 ) in October 2023 titled . ‘ Religion and Spirituality in the prevention and management of depression and anxiety in young people : a systematic review and meta analysis.

The paper looked at 45 Longitudinal studies ( remember this is a study with repeated observations over a certain time period ) and 29 intervention studies ( looking at cause and effect in population groups) .

Stay there …Ive just got to pop to the toilet ………………………sorry about that back now ….and I got another coffee whilst I was up .

The paper points out that the quality of previous studies were often quite low , from high income countries and that this has affected their results. The report was very thorough and extensive and seem to confirm some of the points previously made in this post . The points are that ” Spiritual wellbeing can offer protection against depressive symptoms , whereas negative religious coping ( guilt , shaming ) can exacerbate the effects of stress and lead to an increased risk of depression “.

I think this paper above is well balanced , it points out that spirituality can be beneficial to young people as it gives them clear guidance , goals and support during their developmental stage . It supports the argument that religion or spirituality can have a short to medium term protective effect against depression although to a lesser extent , anxiety . The report finishes with the quote ” Further exploration of the role of religious leaders in promoting mental health and exploring novel ways to harness these beliefs and minimising the negative impacts of religion to assist in preventing and managing depression and anxiety “.

So there you have it ….it’s not clear at all , sometimes thats just the way it is , the current research shows possible positive and some potential negative effects of religion . There is a need for further research but from what I have seen it’s quite subjective . You might strongly believe in one religion or another , you might believe its positive you might believe its negative and from what Ive seen there are examples to support all of these positions . I think we, as individuals are hard to put into a fit all sizes box , we’re different , our experiences are different and so are our beliefs . I don’t have the answer , I can’t find it , perhaps go with what’s right for you , the answer that you feel comfortable with .

Thanks again for spending time with me , you’re not alone , seek help if you need it , get it from a healthcare specialist and not from the internet !