There is a need for a “careful reappraisal” of how the Bible is used when it comes to mental health issues, according to a report from UK-based Christian think tank Theos.
The Christianity and mental health: theology, activities, potential report, published last week, also calls for an analysis of what is described as the “burgeoning exorcism scene” in the UK in light of concerns over how it is being used.
With data showing that almost 10 million British adults are diagnosed with at least one mental health problem each year while one in four are diagnosed with at least one mental health problem over their lifetime, the report concludes that “rather than focusing on limited accounts of explicit mental illness within the Biblical story, or on demonic possession as a growing number of UK Christians appear to be doing, we need to develop an authentic Christian language of mental health from the perspective of sufferers”.
“Where many Christian resources currently focus on raising awareness of different mental health issues there is more to be done in terms of helping sufferers and a Biblical language to verbalise their own experiences,” the report, written by Ben Ryan, concludes.
It adds that there is also a need for “serious caution” when it comes to exorcisms, referring to the danger of what one Christian psychiatrist described as the “Christian over-spiritualising” of issues when medical causes may exist. Noting the difficulty in having “certainty over whether what the Bible describes as demonic possession and current mental health issues have any overlap”, the report says that “if Christians start treating people with mental health issues as if they are possessed when they are not, they run the risk of doing very serious harm”.
Despite this, the report says exorcism is now a “booming industry” in the UK, driven partly by immigrant communities and Pentecostal churches “which are very open about their exorcism services”. It says that “without discounting the possibility of demonic possession, the perspective of several Christians working in the mental health sphere said that, in the vast majority of cases, the person in question was suffering with mental health issues which required psychiatric assistance”.
“Jesus’ command was to heal the sick and to cast out demons,” the report says. “The two are not synonymous. Just as for physical ailments we recommend seeking medical assistance, so it must be for mental illness. This is not to discount the possibility of demonic attacks, but it is to apply caution, in order to ensure that we are best looking after the needs of sufferers.”
Elsewhere the report says that there is “mixed” evidence on the helpfulness of Christian projects in the mental health sphere and that while there is a mounting body of evidence suggesting religious belief aids resilience in responding to traumatic events and leads to faster recovery from mental health problems, there is also evidence that faith “can have negative consequences for mental health and wellbeing” including by those suffering obsessive or compulsive behaviours or anxiety who may find “religion reinforces negative behaviour”.
