SCHIZOPHRENIA AND RELIGION

Schizophrenics have are more likely to be religious than healthy individuals and religious people have a more frequent occurrence of schizophrenia than other groups of people. This is especially true in Jehovah's Witnesses who are three times as likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and four times as likely to be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia than the general population.

More interesting and on the topic of the origin of religion: bicameralism is a theory arguing that the human brain was once divided into two parts; one part acted as the speaker while the other part listened and obeyed. Psychologist Julian Jaynes believed that the human brain acted in this way for everyone as recently as 3,000 years ago. The bicameral mind functions similar to the mind of a modern schizophrenic. In unexpected situations the bicameral mind would not make conscious evaluations like our modern brains, but the person would hallucinate a voice (which they perceived as god) giving them commands and they would obey without questioning the voice. At this time humans did not have consciousness as we do today. The commands from "god" we read about in ancient legends were actually commands directly from an individuals' own brain. Jaynes makes the case that in both The Iliad and older sections in the Old Testament there is no mention of any cognitive process (ex. introspection), and no notion that the authors were self-aware. However, later books of The Old Testament and The Odyssey show a different mentality and an early version of consciousness. Jaynes also showed that there were more gods in those times than there are in modern times, and that is further proof of bicameralism because each person had their own personal "god," although it was actually their own brain. I am fairly unfamiliar with this theory, so my explanation is lacking. It's just a theory, but if you want to learn more I suggest looking it up yourself.

To state the obvious, I believe religion is dangerous and mentally unhealthy. Religious people have a tendency to reject proven scientific facts while insisting that unproven miracles exist. These people are not only some of the most intolerant people in existence, but it is impossible for them to see their views as flawed. A more rational view of reality and existence is better, especially when coping with the harsher parts of life and in finding a fair moral philosophy. Also, it is more important and productive for the world to search for scientific explanations rather than supernatural ones and, if nothing else, an atheist is a more intelligent human being who is able to make his/her own decisions and come up with his/her own moral code independent of "God" or a really old book (yes, i am referring to the Bible).