Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Roles of religions with people with mental illness

What duty, if any, do religions have, when reaching out to people who may have some sort of mental illness or instability, to try to ensure that the teachings are not taken out of context or misused?

Religious groups can be very supportive and tend to reach out to "lost sheep". Some of this work is really great. What happens, though, when the message ends up being twisted in unintended ways?

Should religious groups tell folks in no uncertain terms: "If you think you hear the Voice of G-d, go back on your meds NOW"?

If a religious group reaches out to prisoners, do they need to take extra steps to make sure that new converts aren't going to commit violence in the name of that religion?

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