an addiction, I don't think so. Its a coping mechanism maybe, a crutch, a lie we tell our selves to feel more comfortable with the world. but no not an addiction. Religion dose not make you dependent on it. It may seem that way to some people, but anyone at any time can just, stop, and for no reason. Addictions don't work like that.
In the immortal words of fictional religious addict, Ned Flanders, "Absotootalutely, neighborino!"
As a teen, I attended an Assembly of God church (offshoot of Pentecostals), and these charismatic faiths produce much the same dopamine rush as good drugs. In the same vein as adrenaline junkies or nymphomaniacs, the physical effects of religion can become addictive, and be mistaken as "filled with the Holy Spirit." Feh & bupkes!
Marx was not wrong when he called religion the "opium of the people." Religion allows people to defer responsibility for their hardships, their actions and even the path they take in their lives to "God" as well as allowing them to feel useful for the nonaction of prayer. To a religious person, "God will provide" and "everything happens for a reason" are often used as justification for not working hard to make one's own accomplishments come to fruition. To a religious person, "I'll pray for you" is an acceptable alternative to actually helping their fellow man in times of need. Despite the total lack of proof that any of this is actually true, every time a religious person uses these platitudes to convince someone else that they are a good person or make someone else feel better, it makes themselves feel better and reinforces their belief in their own righteousness. So yes, religion absolutely IS an addiction.
I do not disagree with you there.
Have you ever met someone who's gone through the 12-step program? Just I case you haven't yes it can be an addiction.
Yes. I am doing it now. Gambling .
The correct question is:
Is there any examples at all, of believing in something for which you have no proof, not being an addiction?
I think that's an interesting question, and I've never put much thought to it. I think you can classify it as potentially addictive, in the same way, people get addicted to porn, gambling, and overspending. It would be a mental addiction, which triggers pleasure receptors in the brain. But before we falsely stereotype religion as an addiction, does it have the negative consequences that are commonly associated with addiction? Does being addicted to religion cause families to fall apart, does it cause people to lose their jobs, does it lead to an inability to provide for oneself? Perhaps it could, but those cases would be rather extreme. What other harmful effects would need to be pointed out that would sustain this hypothesis? At the moment I can't think of any. You can't use things that the worldview holds to be true. Otherwise, you would be saying if you believe in God you're an addict and I think that would diminish the meaning of addiction significantly.
Absolutely! As an example, when someone emphatically states, "god makes every decision for me", how could they give that task to someone else to make ALL the right choices?