Depression and God: The Effects of Major Depressive Disorder on Theology and Religious Identity
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Depression and God: The Effects of Major Depressive Disorder on Theology and Religious Identity Stephen J. Sorenson
Published online: 20 September 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012
Abstract Major depressive disorder (MDD) has deep roots in brain function. Recent physiological research ties brain areas involved with depression to areas that process emotions. Among the research surveyed, a link was found between the activity levels of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and parts of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). These links prove to be useful in understanding how an individual might have problems processing emotional experiences. This relates directly to how a person interacts in a religious environment. Religious leaders should share the physicians’ mantra of primum non nocere, which means “first, do no harm.” Skewed views of God can emerge from "gaps in understanding" related to topics such as sin, substance abuse, divine intimacy, and end-of-life questions. Keywords Depression . MDD . fMRI An often-overlooked component of the study of God and practice of church leadership is the degree to which individuals may be subject to mental illness. A classic Reformed Protestant opinion of depression summarizes decades of prevailing pastoral assumptions: A depressed Christian is a contradiction in terms, and he is a very poor recommendation for the gospel. Nothing is more important, therefore, than that we should be delivered from a condition which gives other people, looking at us, the impression that to be a Christian means to be unhappy, to be sad, to be morbid, and that the Christian is one who "scorns delights and lives laborious days." (Lloyd-Jones 1965, p. 11) 6.3 % of adults in the United States suffer from moderate to severe depressive symptoms (Shim et al. 2011). In addition, according to a study by Dr. Ruth Shim et al. of almost 12,000 individuals, 14.8 % of adults in the United States suffer from mild depressive symptoms. This means a total of over 21 % of adults in the United States have depressive symptoms. S. J. Sorenson (*) Minnesota Church Ministries Association, PO Box 1186, Minnetonka, MN 55345, USA e-mail: [email protected] S. J. Sorenson e-mail: [email protected]
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Pastoral Psychol (2013) 62:343–353
37 % of the individuals in the Shim et al. study reported no treatment. Of patients receiving antidepressants, 44.9 % reported some form of continuing depressive symptoms (2011). Some of these people may assume that their remaining depressive symptoms are precipitated spiritually. This article discusses the many ways that depression can be a physiological problem that anti-depressant medications cannot always fix. Depression in Reformed Protestant Christianity has long been thought of as a spiritual problem, as evidenced by the above quote by Martin Lloyd-Jones. We see that the outward appearance of the Christian is frequently more cared for than his or her internal physiological health. Some Christian circles are more willing to accept psych
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