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Study suggests up to 1 in 5 U.S. adults currently suffer from major religious trauma symptoms (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Swift-Godzisz is among the 1 in 3 adults in the United States who have suffered from religious trauma at some point in their life, according to a 2023 study published in the Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry Journal. That same study suggests up to 1 in 5 U.S. adults currently suffer from major religious trauma symptoms.

Religious trauma occurs when an individual’s religious upbringing has lasting adverse effects on their physical, mental or emotional well-being, according to the Religious Trauma Institute. Symptoms can include guilt, shame, loss of trust and loss of meaning in life. While religious trauma hasn’t officially been classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), there is debate among psychiatrists about whether that should change.

Experts say LGBTQ people — who represent more than 7% of the U.S. population, according to a 2023 Gallup poll — experience religious trauma at disproportionate rates and in unique ways. Very little research has been done in this field, but a 2022 study found that LGBTQ people who experience certain forms of religious trauma are at increased risk for suicidality, substance abuse, homelessness, anxiety and depression. And as political animus toward the LGBTQ community intensifies ahead of the 2024 presidential election, many queer people say their pain is resurfacing.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (5 children)

At a different thread, an user expressed doubt about the idea that every single person who showed a hostile attitude towards religion online had been victimized by religion. While such a thing is impossible to prove, there are researchers currently finding out that religious abuse if far more common than the average person probably imagines. This is something that should be brought up whenever we discuss whether religion is positive or not to society, overall.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I'm an atheist, but saying every single person who is hostile towards religion has been traumatized by it is not a true statement. One single counter-example blows up your whole point. Arguments that say "every single person" are usually a bad idea.

How about the vast majority? Maybe, but even then, we have no numbers, this is another losing point to make. It might be true, but we don't have enough info to back this assertion up enough to change anyone's mind. It is easy for a detractors to roll their eyes at this.

The best you can hope to say without making a fallacy is that a disproptoinate number of anti-religious people have experienced religious trauma. I'd even argue the same for the extreme religious supporters too if they were receptive to the first point.

You have to meet the cognitive dissonance of others half-way or you might as well be talking to a wall. Overstating your point where it is no longer even a logical statement just hurts your own efforts.