Religion that heals, religion that harms: a guide for clinical practice

Introduction. When Religion Goes Bad: A Mental Health Problem? Part I: A Map for Navigating the Terrain of Religion. What Sociobiology Explains about Destructive Uses of Religion. What Neurobiology Explains about Destructive Uses of Religion. Setting the Stage: Opening Dialogue about Religious Life. Locating Personal Spirituality through Existential Inquiry. Part II: When Religious Life Propels Suffering. Seeking a Parent in God: Clinical Problems from Insecure Attachments. Seeking Security within the Flock: Clinical Problems from Social Hierarchy, Peer Affiliation, and Reciprocal Altruism. Asserting Primacy of Personal Spirituality Over Sociobiological Religion. The Religious Who Protect Only Their Own: Clinical Problems from Peer Affiliation, Kin Recognition, and Social Exchange. Part III: When Mental Illness Infiltrates Religious Life. Religion That is a Voice for Mental Illness. Dark Nights and Exaltation: Religion Distorted by a Mood Disorder. Worlds Confused: Religion Disorganized by Psychosis. Fear and Dread: Religion Shrunken by an Anxiety Disorder. Part IV: A Clinician's Stance. Finding a Place to Stand: Conversing with Religiously Determined Patients.