Substance Abuse, Drug Traffickers And Addicts On How Religion Can Help Individuals On Their Addictions

The church taught that illness was a punishment from God, and people saw no point in trying to find cures because they naively agreed with the church (Gates 9). If the people tried to find a cure, they would be accused of making a move against God by the church. Instead, the Church just wanted prayer, devotion, and faith and the Church discouraged the use of herbal remedies. This caused friction between the Church and physicians (Nordqvist).

Americans have been believing in God less and less in recent months, and new research is shedding light on why that may be.

In the book, Addiction & Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions, May explores how addiction develops and can be treated from a psychological, physiological, and spiritual standpoint. This theme is clearly shown through out the text as it shows addiction from a whole person view. The book covers the development of addiction from desire through the experience of addiction. The key focus on looking at the matter of addiction from multiple stand points in then broken down by explaining how addiction is an issue psychologically, physiologically, and spiritually. By focusing on these three areas the author is able to present the reader with a clear understanding of addiction from all sides of the problem. This is then

There are over 23 million people, 12 and older, living in the United States who are in need of substance abuse treatment (Atkins & Hawdon, 2007). Effective support groups are needed to address an individual’s substance abuse while also take into consideration their beliefs. Atkins and Hawdon (2007) noted despite the popularity and effectiveness of 12-step support groups, a common dominator among individuals who reject them are the concepts surrounding the religious connotation associated with these groups. Without treatment, the effects of substance abuse can be devastating. Significant social and economic ramification such as death and overwhelming financial expenses are two critical outcomes correlated with substance abuse. DeLucia et

But the room resembled a church in that instead of a symbol of Christ, like a cross, there was a large desk with the insignia AA hanging from the ceiling and a huge triangle affixed to the front of the desk. There were twelve step books on the black chairs, which reminded me of how bibles are in the pews of churches. There was an agenda of sorts, or announcements, just as they would have in a church. They also took up an offering just as they do in church. There were readings from the twelve step book, and there was a group leader sitting at the desk that guided the meeting just as a pastor would do. There was even mention of God and higher power, but there was one major difference, although they mentioned God, there was no power of God in the meeting. As the attendees began to share their thoughts the first expression was “Hi, I’m Joe and I’m an alcoholic”, this is a contradiction. In my mind it is self-defeating to say you are something you are so desperately trying not to be. It also is denying the power they possess at the same time because the Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof”, so if you truly believe you have conquered the addiction it is inconsistent to say I’m an alcoholic. On the other hand, maybe they are saying they haven’t conquered the addiction and they are always one foot into their addiction. Furthermore, I don’t see this as tapping into a higher power because there is no progression if your state of mind is always saying you will always be an alcoholic. Why not say I will overcome my addiction, and I’m a former alcoholic? I understand addiction is a disease. And, the first step is admitting you have a problem, but that is the first step not every step should include this. Most of the people there attended several meetings weekly.

The practice of organized religion has been declining greatly since the mid 20th century, but the pace in which religion is dying is not constant in every western country. Ireland is the only country where most people attend a religious event weekly, on the other hand, less than ten percent of Scandinavians attend religious events. Organized religion is dying where it once was common in everyday life, which is bad news for church leaders who want to fill their seats. From 1945 to 1985 the percent of regular church attendees in Canada dropped in half, from 70% to 35%. Although people have stopped associating themselves with a religion, many of them still believe in a creator. Around 32 percent of America’s population attends church weekly, but 66 percent of Americans have no doubt that there is a God, and another 16 percent believe in a God but have doubts (Altemeyer 79). There is evidence that the recent rise of religious apostasy occurred because of backlash against the “Religious Right”, the christian fundamentalists that are known to be anti-homosexual. Many people are turned off by these beliefs and severed their already weak relationships with the church. Children are also not being taught religious beliefs because of parents who have left the faith. Parents have stopped

Although nearly 88% of the United States population believes that there is a God, this does not make them all religious people (Religious Beliefs and Practices). Religion is defined as being the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. The reason why many people might believe in a god or gods is because God is a social construction; the talk of a god is in all forms of media and everyday life, including the Pledge of Allegiance in the United States. For many people who are religious, like myself, they are taught that there is a God from an early age by various social institutions, including their family, peers, media, and in some cases, private schools.

During this time, in defence of the predominant seat of christianity, the Catholic Church, in that

It is this very power that makes the journey towards living a sober life a little more comfortable. Therapists also have to reframe an addict's psychological state to improve his/her concepts and ideas about accepting a Greater power. Additionally, a therapist can remind alcoholics that this greater forgives and provides sanity at all times. In addition to mastering these skills a therapist must also motivate an addict to find and use his/her personal form of spiritual guidance. This journey of seeking serenity could lead an addict to a state of clarity, understanding, and spiritual awakening.

For most of the world's population, a disease is understood to be a physical issue, aside from mental illnesses. Viruses and bacteria are responsible for infections, tumors stem from an abnormal growth of cells, a poor diet may result in comorbidities, and so on. However, imagine a specialist explaining to you, the patient, that your symptoms of a cough, chest congestion, and fatigue are merely illusions created in the mind, to which the cure is overcoming your mental belief that you are sick at all. This alternative idea of disease and treatment comes from the religion of Christian Science, and along with its highly controversial healing practices, the church demonstrates two bioethical issues: are people seeking treatment in the church due to frustration with the current medical system, or are members afraid to seek professional medical help due to disapproval from the church? In examining these issues, first, the Christian Science doctrine must be understood, then the history surrounding the religion's creation, and finally how the two tie into today's bioethical problems.

The United States is an extremely diverse country representing a “melting pot” of different nationalities, cultures, and religions. Religion has played a crucial role in the development of the U.S. as religious freedom was the primary reason for many immigrants leaving their home countries and journeying to America. The religion that we adopt or are taught affects us on both a small scale in our daily lives and personal beliefs as well as on large scale as a society. While the influence of religion has affected us in a positive way it has also created many obstacles, including impeding the growth of society as a whole.

Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in

For example, William James studied religious experience and suggested that the spiritual process works to curtail people's negative behaviors (James, 1936). For James, spirituality helps individuals recognize their own earthly suffering as either a consequence of individual pathology or addictive behavior, or both. When people begin to criticize or consciously reject problematic individual behaviors as a permanent way of being, then they become open to the possibility of rising to a higher awareness. This higher awareness of his or her own behavior is then integrated as a part of the person's psychology. James was already considering the role religion plays in a person's consciousness early in the twentieth century.

The U.S. News took a survey asking 1000 people questions about their belief in God, or how God played a role in their lives. As a result, 93 percent of people said that they believed in God or a universal spirit (Sheler, 8). Also, when asked to describe their beliefs about God, 76 percent said that they consider God to be a heavenly father who can be reached by prayer (Sheler, 8). That is a remarkable amount of people to belief that they have such a connection with something that they have no actual insurance of existing. Now, obviously America is considered a moral society, so wouldn’t all this faith play a key role in that observation?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009, over 228 million Americans classified themselves as practicing some type of religion. Due to