Abstract
The national self-help group, Fundamentalists Anonymous (F.A.), has focused attention upon mental problems that may be caused or exacerbated by authoritarian religion. In this article we outline assertions about the mental problems caused by membership in fundamentalist religion, illustrate these with two case histories, briefly discuss intervention strategies, and describe conceptual and empirical issues. While former members have presented problems severe enough to warrant professional treatment, a causal link between their symptoms and their religious membership has not yet been established, because there is little empirical work on the subject.
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The authors express gratitude to Stephen Strack, Ph.D.; Robert Meagher, Ph.D.; Herman Feifel, Ph.D.; and Ted Schoenberger, M.D., for their helpful comments on previous drafts of this paper.
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Hartz, G.W., Everett, H.C. Fundamentalist religion and its effect on mental health. J Relig Health 28, 207–217 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987752
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987752