Religion and Mental Health

Catalog description

What counts as a "mental illness" and who gets to decide? Is demonic possession real? If someone hears voices are they sick, or could they be speaking with a supernatural power? What are the right roles of religion and spirituality when it comes to mental health? Do the answers to these questions remain constant throughout history and across cultures? This course will investigate these issues, along with many others that are directly relevant to our personal experience of suffering and joy, and the future of how we understand mental health.