Depressie en religie

Abstract

Two contrasting roles regarding the mental health of man have been attributed to religion in the course of history. On the one hand, the presence of religion and faith in a person has been regarded as pathogenic, with the absence the reof as remedial On the other hand religion and faith in a person have been regarded as remedial, with the absence thereof as pathogenic. The most important finding is that depression is an experience of paradoxes. If the person cannot offer any solution for the paradox, he remains trapped in the vicious spiral of depression. Expressed differently, despair is then constituted. The religious individual attempts to offer a solution fo r the paradox through his interpretation of faith on the basis of his concept of God. Through a newly-discovered concept of God an interpretation of faith becomes possible by which the pe rso n discovers sense and meaning. Expressed differently, hope is then constituted.