Role of Spirituality and Religion

¶ … Role of Spirituality and Religion in Mental Health. By Laura De Veau from the textbook From Critical Thinking to Argument: A Portable Guide. The author's thesis concerns her own (and others) research into religion and its affect on mental health. Ultimately, she believes, "spiritual belief in general should be valued more highly than it is currently in mental health circles" (De Veau 215). This thesis is not considered accurate by many researchers, but the author offers her own evidence to the contrary in a straightforward and honest assessment.

De Veau says she has always been interested in this subject, and thinks there is not enough emphasis on spiritual belief in many mental health studies. She writes the information in a scholarly tone, but in the first person, which makes it a bit more disarming and personal to the reader. She also asserts her own beliefs along with citations and research, which is unusual in most scholarly texts. The author is very thorough, and includes her research as evidence for her conclusions.

Ultimately, her purpose is to find conclusive evidence that spirituality has a positive affect on mental health. She writes in a style that can be understood by most readers, and it is certainly informative. However, it seems that her own personal bias may have affected her conclusion, which is that there are benefits to mental health from spirituality and religious belief. She cites facts, but the only credible study she cites is from a religious journal, which seems to be a biased source. Would it really find that spirituality does not help mental health or coping mechanisms? I do not think that spirituality can hurt a person's mental health in many cases, but some people take these belief systems too far, and I believe that can be very detrimental to mental health. I found myself more in tune with her description of holistic or natural approaches and their attitudes. She notes that it is often when we are young that we turn away from religion. She returned, but she may not represent the majority of people in her field, and that again could bias her research and conclusions.

The author certainly communicates effectively, and is not afraid to share her personal beliefs. However, her beliefs seem to be a major part of her argument. I have no argument that spirituality can be extremely important to the mental health of many people, but I also think for some it can be an impediment. In fact, it can be so overwhelming and all encompassing that it actually adds to mental instability and lack of awareness of the real world. This may come under the form of religious zealousness, but she does not address this in her article, except in the form of cults, and they are not the only religions that can create zealots that essentially give up reality for their notion of religious values and their importance. In fact, while this is a scholarly essay with many sources, for the most part, it seems to champion the author's own experiences and beliefs, with a few sources picked to help underscore her attitudes.