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Chris believes that God has a mission for him.
The Phoenix man, who did not want his real name revealed, hasn't
quite put his finger on what that mission is, but he says he'll
know it "when God decides to tell me."
Chris used to think God wanted him to save the world, a lofty
goal by anyone's standards. Like a nagging voice, the self-generated
command became and obsession, spiraling Chris into deep depression
when he realized he simply did not have the resources to follow
that destiny.
And then there were the dreams, where visions of Christ and the
Holy Spirit appeared before Chris. With every dream, he asked
himself: "Is there a message?" He found himself becoming
dependent on the Bible, reading it feverishly in search of inspiration
and guidance.
On the advice of his ex-wife, the 44-year-old restaurant worker
finally sought counseling last year in an attempt to put some
focus back in his life. Although he won't say he was addicted
to God, he does admit he had some "imbalance of priorities."
"Although my goal is to live entirely by my faith, that requires
giving up control of my life. And that is a frightening thing,"
Chris says. "I still believe God has a mission for me, but
I need to dissect it and put it into perspective."
Like drugs, alcohol and food, religion can be addictive. The
Rev. Leo Booth, an Episcopalian priest who has become an unofficial
spokesman on religious addiction, calls it a "misunderstood
malady."
"My intention is to create debate for this topic," says
Booth, who divides his time between serving as spiritual director
of Westcenter Programs at Tucson General Hospital and an addiction
consultant to the Chemical Dependency Center, Presbyterian Inter-community
Hospital in Whittier, Calif.
"There's an unfortunate lack of knowledge about this form
of addiction. The people who need the treatment are getting misdiagnosed
because we simply don't know enough about it."
Booth is a recovering alcoholic who successfully underwent treatment
nearly 10 years ago, and he knows firsthand the symptoms of obsessive
behavior. He once relied on the bottle much like some depend
on the Bible.
"I think you'll find certain people have a tendency toward
compulsive behavior. If they don't learn how to master control,
they may substitute one addiction for another," he says.
With religious addiction, Booth says the attraction is to escape
from reality into a fantasyland where God takes absolute control
of people's lives, directing their every thought and action."
"If you can imagine a puppet on a string," he says,
"then you get the picture."
Although the public generally associates religious addicts with
cults, Booth says members of mainstream denominations are just
as susceptible to putting their faith out of focus.
"They can develop their own subculture, with its own language
and thought patterns. They get high on God, ritual and ecstatic
prayers. They view the world differently from normal people,"
he says.
The most damaging results of such addiction comes when they begin
making excessive sacrifices for their religion, often leading
to destruction of their families, other relationships, financial
investments and recreation. No aspect of their lives is untouched,
Booth says.
Victims of this type of addiction share many of the same traits
of children of alcoholics, Dubin says. They tend to be people
of low self-esteem, abused and products of dysfunctional families
where there is poor communication. Not surprisingly, many are
children of religious fanatics.
The key to treatment is "loving intervention," Booth
says.
"You've got to break the denial with reality," he says.
"You need to make them see clearly what is happening in their
lives. They are usually blind to everything else around them."
Barry Dubin, clinical social worker for Phoenix Interfaith Counseling,
says America is getting more into religion and for the most part,
it can be "very positive, very helpful."
But it becomes dangerous when the person loses his perspective
and is no longer tolerant of those who don't prescribe to the
same beliefs, Dublin says.
"Whenever you lose your flexibility, you're in trouble,"
he says. "Another sign is when religion starts interfering
with your job and ability to relate to your friends and family.
That inability to cope and function in a normal setting can be
frightening."
Another interfaith counselor, Sister Kris Harpenau, says many
people today are seeking their own personal relationship with
God, citing the charismatic movement with the traditional Roman
Catholic Church as an example.
But it's carried to the extreme when God becomes everything and
"there's no room for anything else," Harpenau says.
"Some people are just looking for ways to fill the empty
spaces in their lives," she says. "Then they start
replacing the already filled spaces with religion, and before
long, it becomes the whole ball game."
When religion-addicted clients come to Interfaith for help, the
intent is not to remove faith from their lives, Dubin and Harpenau
agree. As Booth put it: "Alcoholics can still drink. They
just don't drink alcohol anymore."
Rick Ross, formerly director of the Jewish Prisoner Program for
Jewish Family and Children's Services, now has a private "deprogramming"
practice working in conjunction with psychologists. Of the 88
cases he's taken, 65 of the people were heavily involved in fundamentalist
Christian groups.
As in the prison system, where Ross repeatedly came across compulsive
obsessive personalities with "atrophied reasoning,"
he says he's witnessed the same types in his present work.
Ross concentrates on the "Bible-intoxicated" fundamentalists
who get "drunk on the scriptures and high on the Lord"
to an extreme degree.
"The same way booze and drugs offer an escape, so can religion.
And these people have a way of finding each other and reinforcing
the behavior," Ross says. "It can be particularly harmful
when they have a narrow expression of Christianity. It can shut
down critical thinking and their ability to rational thought."
The deprogrammer says he's run into several case where people
simply put off career and personal decisions by keeping company
with like-minded people.
"They may go on missions to teach their beliefs, do God's
work and praise the Lord, which means they really don't have to
come to grips with other aspects of life," he says.
"After all that greediness last year with the PTL and Oral
Roberts, I hope more people will finally be able to face up to
what's going on out there," Ross says.
Symptoms of addiction
The Rev. Leo Booth has compiled a list of symptoms that can be associated with a religious addiction. They include:
Religious convictions are stated as black and white.
Isolation from people who do not share the same beliefs.
Think of the world and flesh as inherently evil.
Obsessive about praying, going to church, reading the Bible, attending crusades, watching television evangelists, sending money to missions.
Excessive fasting.
Hearing messages from God.
Judging others, often angry and violent toward "heathens."
Brainwashing - attempt to persuade family and significant friends to their way of thinking.
Compulsively talking about God, religion or quoting from Scripture.
Conflict of ideology with hospitals and schools.
Discourage thinking for oneself, doubting or questioning.
Sexuality seen as dirty or bad.
Cannot accept criticism.
Suffer tension, stress, often develop physical illnesses, such as eating disorders, depression and anxiety.
Often stare, go into trances.
Erratic personality changes.