Leading Neuroscientist: Religious Fundamentalism May Be a ‘Mental Illness’ That Can Be ‘Cured’

by Brother Elias on June 4, 2013 in News

Dymphna
via David Edwards The Raw Story

A leading neurologist at the University of Oxford said this week that recent developments meant that science may one day be able to identify religious fundamentalism as a “mental illness” and a cure it.

During a talk at the Hay Literary Festival in Wales on Wednesday, Kathleen Taylor was asked what positive developments she anticipated in neuroscience in the next 60 years.

“One of the surprises may be to see people with certain beliefs as people who can be treated,” she explained, according to The Times of London. “Somebody who has for example become radicalised to a cult ideology – we might stop seeing that as a personal choice that they have chosen as a result of pure free will and may start treating it as some kind of mental disturbance.”


“I am not just talking about the obvious candidates like radical Islam or some of the more extreme cults,” she explained. “I am talking about things like the belief that it is OK to beat your children. These beliefs are very harmful but are not normally categorized as mental illness.”

“In many ways that could be a very positive thing because there are no doubt beliefs in our society that do a heck of a lot of damage, that really do a lot of harm.”

In the introduction to her book, The Brain Supremacy, Taylor noted that scientists needed “to be careful when it comes to developing technologies which can slip through the skull to directly manipulate the brain.”

“They cannot be morally neutral, these world-shaping tools; when the aspect of the world in question is a human being, morality inevitably rears its hydra heads,” she wrote. “Technologies which profoundly change our relationship with the world around us cannot simply be tools, to be used for good or evil, if they alter our basic perception of what good and evil are.”

science setting moral compass,,,,thats interesting

homosexual behavior is not an illness, but physical discipline of children is,,,religion is?


very odd,,,,so smart that its , well,, dumb

So....fight brain washing with brain washing?

Question. Just how many times CAN a brain be washed before it...shrinks?

haaaaaaaaaaa

It can be a mental illness but i think of it as more as what acodger typed in a thread on another site "wishful thinking"

well, with APA,, just about anything can end up a 'mental illness'

and then , be redefined as not a mental illness at all

,,,,I guess what is mental illness will be defined by what the major financial and political sources decide,,,,

so,, religion could end up in the book one day,,,just as homosexuality did

and it could be removed too,,,since it isnt causing most of us religious folks any type of distress or inability to function,,,,

Brains, like computers, can be completely programmed.

What needs to be done is for the authorities, (Whomever they are) should be made to start telling people the truth. Lets start with the Catholic Church.

Fess up.

Then the Government... wouldn't it be wonderful if suddenly they had to tell the truth about everything?


Imagine that. The truth.

That should stop the insanity.

we will never have billions of people believe the 'truth' whatever it is or whomever it is presented by,,,,

there will always be theories and doubts,, thats life,,

True in this world, deception is king because we do not communicate via mental telepathy like the rest of the galaxy.

But if something happened where deception became impossible, and lies were not possible because everyone just became integrated and conscious and connected as a single unit, then the truth would be possible.

Truth is the cure for mental illness.

ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha- (gotta stop to pee my pants)ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Now here is someone in the true spirit of the theme!

The article says beating children and you say physical discipline. I'd say there's definitely something wrong with beating children. I'd question anyone's mental state who thinks it's ok.

'beating' children is not really a religious doctrine, physical discipline is

I was inferring from the article , associating mental illness with religion, that the idea was about parents who use physical discipline (the rod),,,,,,

many, many , people dont know or see the obvious difference between discipline and abuse,,,


and Im sure, with enough political power, the spock disciples might get the pscych society to 'vote in' religion as a mental illness, based on such nonsense,,,

So, physical discipline is part of being religious? Glad I didn't grow up in a household like that.

yep, and Im glad I did,,,,

stopping and beating and harassing young blacks was not uncommon when I grew up,,,,my brothers were spared that harsh reality by having discipline starting AT HOME, instead of having a false belief that they should do whatever they want with some light consequence of a few moments in a corner, or a privilege being taken away

,,trust, BALANCE is the key, an off balance home is an abusive one

but one with support and discipline, with CLEARLY defined boundaries and consequences,, did alot to prepare me for the real world of choice and consequence,,

and I am glad I grew up in the household which I did,,,,,


its what worked for ME and millions of others like me

if it wouldnt work for you,, thats fine,,,but I wouldnt thumb my nose at it (if thats the intent)

I'm not saying children don't need discipline. I'm saying that physical discipline isn't always necessary. When growing up, I never believed that I could do whatever I wanted with no consequences. But, I was not scared into doing things a certain way by the fear of being hit. I was taught how to behave well and never needed to be hit. If a parent needs to scare their children in order for them to behave, something is missing.

nothing is 'always' necessary, each family and each child is unique

physical discipline works in millions of homes and always has/will
to equate it to some mental illness is pretty insulting to all those families who use it as part of the culture

It's not about "scaring" the child. It's about teaching them there is a consequence for one's actions. Not a spanking isn't the answer for every punishment.

But is it really a punishment say grounding the child? Yeah, so they can't go anywhere for a time being, but that gives them entire opportunity and reason to sit in their room and play video games, or watch TV or whatever may be the case.