Most Religion Is Just OCD

by metatron 9 Replies latest jw friends

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  metatron

  The more successful a religion is in holding on to its adherents, the more it exploits a human tendency towards OCD.

  Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a fancy name for habits of thinking that go too far. Like a computer that gets stuck in a

  programming loop, people get stuck thinking or doing the same things over and over. The next time you find yourself unable to sleep

  at 3am, it's likely that you can't stop thinking about the same stuff, over and over.

  And what do we find in religious practise? The Muslims have their 5 times prayer, each day. Mormons wear special underwear.

  Opus Dei enthusiasts wear a painful bracelet. The bigger the habit, the better the fanaticism!

  And Witnesses? They are told to "read the Bible each day", attend 5 meetings a week, and "put in their time" in a "preaching

  work". Familiar phrases: "I gotta go to the meeting" (why?) "I gotta get my time in" (because...?) "I gotta attend the assembly"

  (and what? doze off for several hours?).

  Do they really understand the Bible? Do they really learn from the meetings? Do most of them really accomplish anything in the

  "preaching work"? I say No! to all of these questions.

  It's not about logic - it's about habits, deeply ingrained, and then rationalized as somehow "reasonable". Most of us

  just overthink the subject - instead of taking a calm overview of what we're caught up in.

  And are you ready for the greatest irony of all? Here it is: because the Watchtower does such an excellent job of training people

  in religious OCD, if they "leave the truth", they may continue that obsession AGAINST THE WATCHTOWER with equal devotion.

  Thus, the Watchtower is creating its own worst enemies - who can't let go . Talk about reaping what you sow!

  metatron (and yes, I watch "Monk" , mea culpa)
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  changeling

  This is definitely true of my mom!

  changeling
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  jaguarbass

  Good points, Good post.
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  Terry

  The older I get the more I'm convinced that one's psychology is what chooses their lifestyle.

  Religion is obviously suited to people easily obsessed with details. After all, the Old Testament is a plethora of rules and regulations and observances and caveats and such. Ritual is the bondsman of the freak.

  What religion is unburdened by ritual? Who/what/when/where/why is the launching pad of bible obsessions.

  No wonder fundamentalists require inerrancy! Chapter and verse are iron chains with meticulous limits and tolerances.

  Religious adherents are the least imaginative people when it comes to creating something useful in their own lives and the most imaginative when it comes to justifying aberrant behavior on their own part.

  Religious psychology is disconnected from reality and practicality. It is in essence a pure Superstition.

  People without understanding resort to superstition to give order to the chaos of their worldview. The rituals are performed, the behavior critiqued and the narrow boundries enforced like a straitjacket. This all gives a sense of security.

  Paranoia is never far behind. Enemies and those viewd as "other" is part and parcel of a religious mindset.

  Naturally, I will have many people interject at this juncture, "Not me!". Okay, if you say so.

  If you think there is only one standard of behavior acceptable to an invisible super-being, I won't quarrel with you.

  If you think the nature of super-nature is more real than reality I won't waste time arguing. But, if you think you've found it and it works for you and you are under no compulsion to view others as less fortunate---I've yet to meet your sort in my lifetime!
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  Qcmbr

  ...hey now hold on Met. ..only special Mormons wear special underwear.
  
  Your OCD stuff is interesting if a bit tosh since many people do things for a cultural reasons (businessmen wear ties, Indian women wear Sari's , babies wear GAP and so on...)
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  undercover

  only special Mormons wear special underwear.

  And what makes those "special" MOs so special that they get to (or have to) wear the special underwear? Could OCD help drive un-special MOs to strive to attain the level of being accepted as "special"?
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  Happy Harvester

  Religion is also a family affair in that people usually don't leave the religion they're brought up in; therefore, I suspect the OCD traits my also be hereditary, as well as learned. OCD - (and other mental illnesses) - is certainly a factor in many peoples' religiosity (and other obsessions).
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  Happy Harvester

  And are you ready for the greatest irony of all? Here it is: because the Watchtower does such an excellent job of training people

  in religious OCD, if they "leave the truth", they may continue that obsession AGAINST THE WATCHTOWER with equal devotion.

  Thus, the Watchtower is creating its own worst enemies - who can't let go . Talk about reaping what you sow!

  Ha ha. I totally resemble these comments.

  Ed to say, Backlash is a bitch.
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  Qcmbr

  ...you just know when your special...
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  undercover

  ...you just know when your special...

  Kinda like knowing when you're one of the "anointed"...