Differentiating psychosis and faith: the role of social norms and religious fundamentalism

Abstract

Although delusion is a central characteristic of psychosis, problems with the DSM definition make identification difficult, especially when religious content is involved. This study, involving 255 participants, sought to (1) determine if untrained participants’ assessment of religious beliefs would be similar to that of trained clinicians in a previous study and (2) determine whether participants’ Religious Fundamentalism (RF) influenced assessment. Three sets of religious beliefs, with varying levels of conventionality, were assessed. Results indicate that untrained participants rated religious beliefs in much the same way as did clinicians in a previous study, suggesting that social norms play an important role in the assessment of religious ideation. It was also found that High RF participants rated beliefs similar to their own as less pathological than did Low RF participants. Furthermore, High RF participants did not lower pathology ratings for beliefs from the least conventional religion, even when identified as religious.

Keywords:

• delusion
• diagnosis
• religion
• fundamentalism
• DSM
• psychosis