When Religion Is an Addiction

When Religion Is an Addiction

Author: Robert N. Minor

Publisher: Fairness Proj

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 157

ISBN-13: 9780970958129

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When Religion is an Addiction first asks us to change our understanding of the radical religious right, to consider it in a new light, so that we can do something that will first of all ensure the health of those outside the addiction, and secondly, end our own activities that are part of the dynamics that further the religious right-wing. Chapters two through seven set out the new understanding of many in the religious right-wing and how it explains what we've been seeing in social issues and politics.The ultimate goal is not only to set forth a way to understand the problem but also to point to solutions. Chapter one sets the tone for that by calling us to stop arguing about religion in general.The recent spate of books that defend atheism — what Time magazine has labelled “an atheist literary wave” — are a welcome alternative voice in American religious dialogue. They also encourage such arguments and soothe the atheist choir, while providing further opportunities for the right-wing to use religion for its accompanying feeling of righteousness.Chapter eight discusses practical guidelines for dealing with people who use religion as their addiction. People in Dr. Minor's workshops have already found these guidelines helpful, reassuring, and empowering.


Book Synopsis When Religion Is an Addiction by : Robert N. Minor

Download or read book When Religion Is an Addiction written by Robert N. Minor and published by Fairness Proj. This book was released on 2007 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Religion is an Addiction first asks us to change our understanding of the radical religious right, to consider it in a new light, so that we can do something that will first of all ensure the health of those outside the addiction, and secondly, end our own activities that are part of the dynamics that further the religious right-wing. Chapters two through seven set out the new understanding of many in the religious right-wing and how it explains what we've been seeing in social issues and politics.The ultimate goal is not only to set forth a way to understand the problem but also to point to solutions. Chapter one sets the tone for that by calling us to stop arguing about religion in general.The recent spate of books that defend atheism — what Time magazine has labelled “an atheist literary wave” — are a welcome alternative voice in American religious dialogue. They also encourage such arguments and soothe the atheist choir, while providing further opportunities for the right-wing to use religion for its accompanying feeling of righteousness.Chapter eight discusses practical guidelines for dealing with people who use religion as their addiction. People in Dr. Minor's workshops have already found these guidelines helpful, reassuring, and empowering.

The Addiction of Religion

The Addiction of Religion

Author: Kendra Foy

Publisher:

Published: 2020-09-21

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781735630601

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The Karl Marx called religion "The opiate of the masses." The Addiction of Religion is a journey into the exploration of how religion shapes our lives. It is a moving view into religion from the perspective religion as an addiction. It raises the question are we addicted to religion? Are we holding on to fallacies that our parents learned from their parents? Where does the LGBTQ community fit into the scope of religion? How do I find acceptance and my soul's true identity in the universe? Can all of the other religions that are not my own really be wrong? What if everything they taught me about religion isn't even real? The Addiction of Religion takes a candid look at several religious points of view to see their similarities and their differences. Look to understand how the addiction to religion starts and grows with us as we grow into adulthood. Read compelling personal accounts from all walks of life about their individual journeys with religion.The Recoverist bears her soul in this book of discovery about who we are as God. God is living through us in the journey to know The Recoverist bears her soul in this book of discovery about who we are as God. God is living through us in the journey to know Itself. She offers the questions, the debates, and answers to many of the topics that philosophers have studied for all time. She is not afraid to challenge conventional religion and to dissect it at its core. She examines the idea of morality, sexuality, and spirituality with unabashed candor. This book will challenge everything you were ever taught to believe.


Book Synopsis The Addiction of Religion by : Kendra Foy

Download or read book The Addiction of Religion written by Kendra Foy and published by . This book was released on 2020-09-21 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Karl Marx called religion "The opiate of the masses." The Addiction of Religion is a journey into the exploration of how religion shapes our lives. It is a moving view into religion from the perspective religion as an addiction. It raises the question are we addicted to religion? Are we holding on to fallacies that our parents learned from their parents? Where does the LGBTQ community fit into the scope of religion? How do I find acceptance and my soul's true identity in the universe? Can all of the other religions that are not my own really be wrong? What if everything they taught me about religion isn't even real? The Addiction of Religion takes a candid look at several religious points of view to see their similarities and their differences. Look to understand how the addiction to religion starts and grows with us as we grow into adulthood. Read compelling personal accounts from all walks of life about their individual journeys with religion.The Recoverist bears her soul in this book of discovery about who we are as God. God is living through us in the journey to know The Recoverist bears her soul in this book of discovery about who we are as God. God is living through us in the journey to know Itself. She offers the questions, the debates, and answers to many of the topics that philosophers have studied for all time. She is not afraid to challenge conventional religion and to dissect it at its core. She examines the idea of morality, sexuality, and spirituality with unabashed candor. This book will challenge everything you were ever taught to believe.

Healing Spiritual Abuse & Religious Addiction

Healing Spiritual Abuse & Religious Addiction

Author: Matthew Linn

Publisher: Paulist Press

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9780809134885

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Discusses the realities of spiritual abuse and religious addiction -- how they are defined, the reasons they exist and how people can move beyond vulnerable life patterns in order to enjoy a more lifegiving relationship with God and with a healthy faith community.


Book Synopsis Healing Spiritual Abuse & Religious Addiction by : Matthew Linn

Download or read book Healing Spiritual Abuse & Religious Addiction written by Matthew Linn and published by Paulist Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the realities of spiritual abuse and religious addiction -- how they are defined, the reasons they exist and how people can move beyond vulnerable life patterns in order to enjoy a more lifegiving relationship with God and with a healthy faith community.

Toxic Faith

Toxic Faith

Author: Stephen Arterburn

Publisher: Shaw Books

Published: 2011-04-13

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0307786048

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Experiencing Healing from Painful Spiritual Abuse When religion becomes a means to avoid or control life, it becomes toxic. Those who possess a toxic faith have stepped across the line from a balanced perspective of God to an unbalanced faith in a weak, powerless or uncaring God. They seek a God to fix every mess, prevent every hurt, and mend every conflict. Toxic Faith distinguishes between a healthy faith and a misguided religiosity that traps believers in an addictive practice of religion. It shows how unbalanced ministries, misguided churches, and unscrupulous leaders can lead their followers away from God and into a desolate experience of religion that drives many to despair. Toxic Faith shows readers how to find hope for a return to genuine, healthy faith that can add meaning to life. In the words of the author, “I want to help you throw out that toxic faith and bring you back to the real thing.”


Book Synopsis Toxic Faith by : Stephen Arterburn

Download or read book Toxic Faith written by Stephen Arterburn and published by Shaw Books. This book was released on 2011-04-13 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experiencing Healing from Painful Spiritual Abuse When religion becomes a means to avoid or control life, it becomes toxic. Those who possess a toxic faith have stepped across the line from a balanced perspective of God to an unbalanced faith in a weak, powerless or uncaring God. They seek a God to fix every mess, prevent every hurt, and mend every conflict. Toxic Faith distinguishes between a healthy faith and a misguided religiosity that traps believers in an addictive practice of religion. It shows how unbalanced ministries, misguided churches, and unscrupulous leaders can lead their followers away from God and into a desolate experience of religion that drives many to despair. Toxic Faith shows readers how to find hope for a return to genuine, healthy faith that can add meaning to life. In the words of the author, “I want to help you throw out that toxic faith and bring you back to the real thing.”

Addicted to Lust

Addicted to Lust

Author: Samuel L. Perry

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-04-02

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0190844221

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Few cultural issues alarm conservative Protestant families and communities like the seemingly ubiquitous threat of pornography. Thanks to widespread access to the internet, conservative Protestants now face a reality in which every Christian man, woman, and child with a smartphone can access limitless pornography in their bathroom, at work, or at a friend's sleepover. Once confident of their victory over pornography in society at large, conservative Protestants now fear that "porn addiction" is consuming even the most faithful. How are they adjusting to this new reality? And what are its consequences in their lives? Drawing on over 130 interviews as well as numerous national surveys, Addicted to Lust shows that, compared to other Americans, pornography shapes the lives of conservative Protestants in ways that are uniquely damaging to their mental health, spiritual lives, and intimate relationships. Samuel L. Perry demonstrates how certain pervasive beliefs within the conservative Protestant subculture unwittingly create a context in which those who use pornography are often overwhelmed with shame and discouragement, sometimes to the point of depression or withdrawal from faith altogether. Conservative Protestant women who use pornography feel a "double shame" both for sinning sexually and for sinning "like a man," while conflicts over pornography in marriages are escalated by patterns of lying, hiding, blowing up, or threats of divorce. Addicted to Lust shines new light on one of the most talked-about problems facing conservative Christians.


Book Synopsis Addicted to Lust by : Samuel L. Perry

Download or read book Addicted to Lust written by Samuel L. Perry and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few cultural issues alarm conservative Protestant families and communities like the seemingly ubiquitous threat of pornography. Thanks to widespread access to the internet, conservative Protestants now face a reality in which every Christian man, woman, and child with a smartphone can access limitless pornography in their bathroom, at work, or at a friend's sleepover. Once confident of their victory over pornography in society at large, conservative Protestants now fear that "porn addiction" is consuming even the most faithful. How are they adjusting to this new reality? And what are its consequences in their lives? Drawing on over 130 interviews as well as numerous national surveys, Addicted to Lust shows that, compared to other Americans, pornography shapes the lives of conservative Protestants in ways that are uniquely damaging to their mental health, spiritual lives, and intimate relationships. Samuel L. Perry demonstrates how certain pervasive beliefs within the conservative Protestant subculture unwittingly create a context in which those who use pornography are often overwhelmed with shame and discouragement, sometimes to the point of depression or withdrawal from faith altogether. Conservative Protestant women who use pornography feel a "double shame" both for sinning sexually and for sinning "like a man," while conflicts over pornography in marriages are escalated by patterns of lying, hiding, blowing up, or threats of divorce. Addicted to Lust shines new light on one of the most talked-about problems facing conservative Christians.

When God Becomes a Drug

When God Becomes a Drug

Author: Leo Booth

Publisher: TarcherPerigee

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13:

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Father Leo Booth, nationally renowned spokesperson on recovery issues, reveals a startling picture of millions of people living dysfunctional lives through their religious addiction. Father Booth offers a clear-cut program, giving readers practical ways to overcome excessive devotion and attain healthy spirituality.


Book Synopsis When God Becomes a Drug by : Leo Booth

Download or read book When God Becomes a Drug written by Leo Booth and published by TarcherPerigee. This book was released on 1991 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Father Leo Booth, nationally renowned spokesperson on recovery issues, reveals a startling picture of millions of people living dysfunctional lives through their religious addiction. Father Booth offers a clear-cut program, giving readers practical ways to overcome excessive devotion and attain healthy spirituality.

When God Becomes a Drug

When God Becomes a Drug

Author: Leo Booth

Publisher:

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9780962328299

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The twelve-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous has been adapted to help turn compulsive, religious addiction into a healthy, Christ-like spiritual recovery regimen.


Book Synopsis When God Becomes a Drug by : Leo Booth

Download or read book When God Becomes a Drug written by Leo Booth and published by . This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twelve-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous has been adapted to help turn compulsive, religious addiction into a healthy, Christ-like spiritual recovery regimen.

Religious Addiction, Mental Health and Spirituality

Religious Addiction, Mental Health and Spirituality

Author: Regina Pinto-Moura

Publisher: Xulon Press

Published: 2008-06

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 1602667934

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The most destructive Frankenstein was created "in the name of God", among Brazilians in Somerville, Massachusetts. An unhealthy faith system it was established. As a result, many Brazilians may not trust any authority. They are becoming unable to discern who supports their integrity, and who not. Visibly, the mental health of some religious leaders became an issue. The questions that arise at the intersection of faith and mental illness are not easily answered. It is impossible to deny the damage caused by some leaders around the Boston greater area. Faith has been destroyed, lives have been lost and an entire generation has been spiritually, emotionally and psychologically mutilated. This book represents an action to take responsibility before God and the second generation of Brazilians in the United States. In order to understand the reasons behind this process of "deconversion" the challenge is to consider some aspects of religious addictions, mental health and spirituality. The Brazilian community has been diagnosed with a "spiritual tumor". This illness has the potential for causing isolation. Unless addressed, this sense of isolation and unproductive faith can be ongoing. Many of the Brazilians feel that their faith has been stolen, and it's time to take it back. Authentic accountability with each other could be the very thing that re-ignites our passion for Christ and His kingdom. Rev. Dr. Regina Pinto-Moura The Rev. Dr. Regina Pinto-Moura pastors the Shalom International Baptist Community in Somerville, Massachusetts. She also serves side by side with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Jota Moura Rocha. Ordained in Massachusetts in 2003, Regina earned a Masters in Counseling Psychology and Addiction from Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA. She has a Doctorate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for her studies in Ministry in Complex Urban Settings.


Book Synopsis Religious Addiction, Mental Health and Spirituality by : Regina Pinto-Moura

Download or read book Religious Addiction, Mental Health and Spirituality written by Regina Pinto-Moura and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2008-06 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most destructive Frankenstein was created "in the name of God", among Brazilians in Somerville, Massachusetts. An unhealthy faith system it was established. As a result, many Brazilians may not trust any authority. They are becoming unable to discern who supports their integrity, and who not. Visibly, the mental health of some religious leaders became an issue. The questions that arise at the intersection of faith and mental illness are not easily answered. It is impossible to deny the damage caused by some leaders around the Boston greater area. Faith has been destroyed, lives have been lost and an entire generation has been spiritually, emotionally and psychologically mutilated. This book represents an action to take responsibility before God and the second generation of Brazilians in the United States. In order to understand the reasons behind this process of "deconversion" the challenge is to consider some aspects of religious addictions, mental health and spirituality. The Brazilian community has been diagnosed with a "spiritual tumor". This illness has the potential for causing isolation. Unless addressed, this sense of isolation and unproductive faith can be ongoing. Many of the Brazilians feel that their faith has been stolen, and it's time to take it back. Authentic accountability with each other could be the very thing that re-ignites our passion for Christ and His kingdom. Rev. Dr. Regina Pinto-Moura The Rev. Dr. Regina Pinto-Moura pastors the Shalom International Baptist Community in Somerville, Massachusetts. She also serves side by side with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Jota Moura Rocha. Ordained in Massachusetts in 2003, Regina earned a Masters in Counseling Psychology and Addiction from Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA. She has a Doctorate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for her studies in Ministry in Complex Urban Settings.

Jesus and Addiction to Origins

Jesus and Addiction to Origins

Author: Willi Braun

Publisher: Working Papers

Published: 2020-10

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781781799420

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This collection of essays constitute an extended argument for an anthropocentric, human-focused, study of religious practices. The basic premise of the argument, offered in the opening section, is that there is nothing special or extraordinary about human behaviors and constructs that are claimed to have uniquely religious status and authority. Instead, they are fundamentally human and so the scholar of religion is engaged in nothing more or less than studying humans across time and place and all their complex existence-that includes creating more-than-human beings and realities. As an extended and detailed example of such an approach, the second part of the book contains essays that address practices, rhetoric and other data in early Christianities within Greco-Roman cultures and religions. The underlying aim is to insert studies of the New Testament and non-canonical texts, most often presented as "biblical studies," into the anthropocentric study of religion proposed in the opening section. For a general reading of modern biblical scholarship makes clear the assumption that the Christian bible is a "sacred text" whose principal raison d'etre is to stand, fetish-like, as the foundational and highest authority in matters moral, ritual or theological; how might we instead approach the study of these texts if they are nothing more or less than human documents deriving from situations that were themselves all too human? Braun's Jesus and Addiction to Origins seeks to answer just that question-doing so in a way that readers working outside Christian origins will undoubtedly find useful applications for the people, places, and historical periods that they study.


Book Synopsis Jesus and Addiction to Origins by : Willi Braun

Download or read book Jesus and Addiction to Origins written by Willi Braun and published by Working Papers. This book was released on 2020-10 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays constitute an extended argument for an anthropocentric, human-focused, study of religious practices. The basic premise of the argument, offered in the opening section, is that there is nothing special or extraordinary about human behaviors and constructs that are claimed to have uniquely religious status and authority. Instead, they are fundamentally human and so the scholar of religion is engaged in nothing more or less than studying humans across time and place and all their complex existence-that includes creating more-than-human beings and realities. As an extended and detailed example of such an approach, the second part of the book contains essays that address practices, rhetoric and other data in early Christianities within Greco-Roman cultures and religions. The underlying aim is to insert studies of the New Testament and non-canonical texts, most often presented as "biblical studies," into the anthropocentric study of religion proposed in the opening section. For a general reading of modern biblical scholarship makes clear the assumption that the Christian bible is a "sacred text" whose principal raison d'etre is to stand, fetish-like, as the foundational and highest authority in matters moral, ritual or theological; how might we instead approach the study of these texts if they are nothing more or less than human documents deriving from situations that were themselves all too human? Braun's Jesus and Addiction to Origins seeks to answer just that question-doing so in a way that readers working outside Christian origins will undoubtedly find useful applications for the people, places, and historical periods that they study.

Addiction Treatment

Addiction Treatment

Author: Daniel Hood

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-08

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1351533940

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Addiction Treatment is an ethnography that compares two types of residential drug-free treatment programs-religious, faith-based programs and science-based, secular programs. Although these programs have originated from significantly different ideological bases, in examining the day-to-day operations of each, Daniel E. Hood concludes that they are far more alike than they are different. Drug-free treatment today, whether in secular or religious form, is little more than a remnant of the temperance movement. It is a warning to stop using drugs. At its best, treatment provides practical advice and support for complete abstinence. At its worst, it demeans users for a form of behavior that is not well understood and threatens death if they do not stop. Hood argues that there is no universal agreement on what addiction is and that drug abuse is little more than a catch-all term of no specific meaning used to condemn behavior that is socially unacceptable. Through extensive participatory observations, intimate life history interviews, and informal conversations with residents and staff, Hood shows how both programs use the same basic techniques of ideological persuasion (mutual witnessing), methods of social control (discourse deprivation), and the same proposed zero tolerance, abstinent lifestyle (Christian living vs. Right living) as they endeavor to transform clients from addicts to citizens or from sinners to disciples.


Book Synopsis Addiction Treatment by : Daniel Hood

Download or read book Addiction Treatment written by Daniel Hood and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addiction Treatment is an ethnography that compares two types of residential drug-free treatment programs-religious, faith-based programs and science-based, secular programs. Although these programs have originated from significantly different ideological bases, in examining the day-to-day operations of each, Daniel E. Hood concludes that they are far more alike than they are different. Drug-free treatment today, whether in secular or religious form, is little more than a remnant of the temperance movement. It is a warning to stop using drugs. At its best, treatment provides practical advice and support for complete abstinence. At its worst, it demeans users for a form of behavior that is not well understood and threatens death if they do not stop. Hood argues that there is no universal agreement on what addiction is and that drug abuse is little more than a catch-all term of no specific meaning used to condemn behavior that is socially unacceptable. Through extensive participatory observations, intimate life history interviews, and informal conversations with residents and staff, Hood shows how both programs use the same basic techniques of ideological persuasion (mutual witnessing), methods of social control (discourse deprivation), and the same proposed zero tolerance, abstinent lifestyle (Christian living vs. Right living) as they endeavor to transform clients from addicts to citizens or from sinners to disciples.