A community survey of psychological symptoms: evaluating evolutionary theories regarding shamanism and schizophrenia

McClenon, James

doi:10.1080/13674676.2011.637913

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“… 1. While some authors have argued for close links between anomalous experience, spirituality, psi and psychosis (Clarke, 2010 ; Jackson & Fulford, 1997 ; McClenon, 2012 ), we argue instead that religious/spiritual experiences and psychotic phenomena are different cultural phenomena. The relationships between religious and paranormal experiences have been discussed in the literature (Tobacyk & Milford, 1983 ).…”

Section: Notecontrasting

confidence: 66%

God put a thought into my mind: the charismatic Christian experience of receiving communications from God

Dein

Cook

2015

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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The agentive aspects of communicative religious experiences remain somewhat neglected in the social sciences literature. There is a need for phenomenological descriptions of these experiences and the ways in which they differ from culturally defined psychopathological states. In this semi-structured interview study, eight congregants attending an evangelical church in London were asked to describe their experiences of God communicating with them. Communications from God were related to current events rather than to the prediction of future events. These communications were received as thoughts and do not generally reveal metaphysical insights, but rather they relate to the mundane world. They provided direction, consolation and empowerment in the lives of those receiving them. Individuals recounted that on occasion God sometimes speaks audibly, or accompanied by supernatural phenomena, but in the vast majority of cases, the way God speaks is through thoughts or impressions. In all instances, agency is maintained, individuals can choose to obey the thoughts/voices or not. The findings are discussed in relation to externalisation of agency and the phenomenon of thought insertion in schizophrenia.

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Section: Notecontrasting

confidence: 66%

God put a thought into my mind: the charismatic Christian experience of receiving communications from God

Dein

Cook

2015

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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“…In another research, a North American community survey was given to 965 African American adults with schizotypal experiences and other psychological symptoms. McClenon (2012) successfully confirmed hypotheses derived from the ritual healing theory and suggested that religion-based cognitive behavioral therapy be used for distressed people. The discrepancy observed between this current study and its clinical counterparts point to the need for future studies to identify the subjects' physical conditions and the specific elements of these ritualistic ceremonies under which the beneficial effects of dissociation may be reliably observed.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Dissociation, Paranormal Belief, and Quality of Life in Older People

Chou

2015

Sage Open

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The measurement of religiosity in current health-related literature is mostly based on the traditional Christian belief system. It has been argued that such a measurement approach may misrepresent the true degree of religiosity in Taiwanese people. In this study, religiosity was measured in two ways: self-reported religion type and a qualitatively derived index of religious piety based on principles as suggested by Gries, Su, and Schak to be used in the Taiwanese context. Their effects on dissociation, paranormal belief, and quality of life were juxtaposed for comparison. In addition, the beneficial effect of religious piety was examined in the framework of McClenon's ritual healing theory. A total of 266 healthy older adults across Taiwan were interviewed by four trained assistants over a 4-month period. Factor scores were used to represent the dissociative tendencies (depersonalization/derealization, forgetfulness, amnesia, and psychological absorption) and paranormal belief facets (precognition, psi power, other forms of life, traditional religious belief, superstition, and telepathy). The results showed that older people of high religious piety display better quality of life profiles than their counterparts in the low religious piety group. The effects of self-reported religion type were mainly seen with paranormal beliefs compatible with their religious beliefs, whereas the effects of religious piety were more pronounced in relation to quality of life than dissociation and paranormal belief. The beneficial advantage of dissociation hypothesized by ritual healing theory did not receive empirical support in the nonclinical sample of this study.

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“…Correlational clusters of phenotype variables suggest associated alleles. A recent survey in North Carolina identified variables most correlated with mental disorder symptoms (McClenon, 2012). Findings support the ritual healing theory.…”

Section: Commentarymentioning

confidence: 68%

Cognitive resource depletion in religious interactions

Schjoedt

Sørensen

Nielbo

et al. 2013

Religion, Brain & Behavior

123

108

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We explore the cognitive effects of three common features of religious interactions: (1) demand for the expressive suppression of emotion; (2) exposure to goaldemoted and causally opaque actions; and (3) the presence of a charismatic authority. Using a cognitive resource model of executive function, we argue that these three features affect the executive system in ways that limit the capacity for individual processing of religious events. We frame our analysis in the context of a general assumption that collective rituals facilitate the transmission of cultural ideas. Building on recent experiments, we suggest that these three features increase participants' susceptibility to authoritative narratives and interpretations by preventing individuals from constructing their own accounts of the ritual event.

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A community survey of psychological symptoms: evaluating evolutionary theories regarding shamanism and schizophrenia

Cited by 19 publications

References 60 publications

God put a thought into my mind: the charismatic Christian experience of receiving communications from God

God put a thought into my mind: the charismatic Christian experience of receiving communications from God

Dissociation, Paranormal Belief, and Quality of Life in Older People

Cognitive resource depletion in religious interactions

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