There are studies that correlate higher intelligence and more mental illness and there are studies that correlate higher intelligence and lower religiosity. So... not inconceivable. The more you know about how the world really works, the more there is to be depressed about. It's especially depressing to be living in the United States at a time like this when we are descending into idiocracy.

I have endured depression as a believer and as an atheist. It was worse when I was a believer and thought that god didn't give a damn about me. Then when I figured out there is no god I still have issues with anxiety and depression. The main contributor to the anxiety/depression has been eliminated, but I still have moments. If you haven't had any depression, good for you. Just because you can't see it and don't understand it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It is brain chemistry, and situations, and probably genetics. My theory is that if I walk into an office of 100 people and ask who is dealing with depression, 75 hands will go up. 10 won't because they haven't figured it out yet. And one or more persons may have to take time off work to deal with their depression. My ex was very angry for a long time, that was his manifestation of depression.

I have always struggled with depression, anxiety and cPTSD, but it had nothing to do with being religious or non-religious. When I wanted to believe (in my teen days), it was sort of a crutch, but it also added a lot more pressure to my internal suffering because in religion you are never good enough. Once I shrugged the dogma, my issues did not go away of course, but I found out that it's much easier to deal with them without the supernatural crap. For many people religion is a way to feel not alone, but to me it was making things worse. I am happier now that I fully embraced atheism, because I am the only one responsible for my happiness (well that, and Prozac lol

Depression is largely a matter of two things -- the ongoing wearing away caused by heavy stress, and by our own brain chemistry. It has nothing top do with you belief systems.

No way...why should we be? I think we tend to be happier and try to make more of life without any guilt or fear of an unknown judge.

Nope, I don't see the correlation but I do see how Christianity might advance such a concept to discourage atheism.

There are many types of depression, I've not seen any study that can scientifically link any mental health conditions on agnosticism or atheism. I have read propaganda material from both sides that under scrutiny fall apart. I'd say it was all part of the human condition.

I would say that boredom from loosing/not having the community that is enjoyed by churchgoing people, and the inability to find such community that is like-minded.

What a healthy outlook you have, @Paul967!

I can't imagine that it would be so but, if it were, I would relate it to the sense of exclusion and possible alienation experienced by A/A's when in a predominantly religious environment. But this would be so with any oppressed people (such as homosexuals) who have to subvert their true selves in order to belong to the group.

I suffer from depression but it isn't due to not believing in an after life. Episodes of depression don't often have a cause, at least for me. So I can't really get over it so easily.

Marx was not wrong when he called religion the opiate of the masses. Drugs feel good because, in part, they trigger a neurochemical reaction of endorphine and dopamine that the brain perceives as pleasant. To my knowledge, depression is neurologically correlated with deficiencies in those parts of a person's neuro-chemistry.

Obviously, the likelihood that a person must cope with imbalanced neuro-chemistry is not going to have much directly to do with religion. But it's not hard to image that someone who is otherwise neurologically depressed might get a dopamine rush from some sort of activity or mental state induced by religion or religious belief. That could stave off or mitigate the effects of depression, at least enough to affect how that person responds to a statistical survey and possibly enough to induce them to say they would be depressed if it weren't for God.

(N.b., A placebo works because it serves as a dopamine trigger; God is a placebo here.)

It's hard to answer that with any authority as it would seem that for the thousands, possibly millions, of years that thinking and reasoning humanoids have inhabited this planet that they survived to allow us to be here and without the christian god or any other god and it likely had no effect on their depression. Maybe.

I’ve been told that I have dystyemia. Probably a result of my crappy childhood, and I had one bout of major depression because of my late wife, but it had nothing to do with religion. I would think that religion has built in supports to help out with those people who have personal/psychological issues. Agnostics lack that by definition.

I think it made me happier to know my life isn't in fact governed by a tyrannical, jealous, and bigoted supernatural Santa Claus. A bit of a relief, actually. Freedom!

I grew up with a fairly consistent message from the Christian community that people are "born into sin". We are tainted from birth, unworthy of God, prone to evil. Only Jesus can save us from our nature. My parents made this personal for me and I don't remember a time in childhood when I wasn't riddled with depression and anxiety. I spent my teen and young adult years on antidepressants, being told I had chemical imbalances. Yet as my beliefs changed and other aspects of my life improved, depression symptoms slipped away as well. I'm not a different person, but my sense of self-worth has improved without religion.

Big-brained H. sapiens can get its thoughts in a tangled mess easily. Religious literalism can be used as a crutch, which can help a lot in some cases, but the net effect can be marginal. Take away that crutch and things can get worse, unless an effective replacement can be found or constructed. A willingness to face reality as it is can feel ennobling, but bleak. At best, the person is on her/his own, without a powerful social institution for support, guidance, and community. Solutions inevitably end up being piecemeal, and sometimes little better than the system they replace. No wonder so many (myself included) have suffered from depression.

Some see science as a suitable replacement, but, alone, it isn't enough. There needs to be a science-based, comprehensive worldview and personal philosophy of life to fully fill that void, and that is a tall order. If you happen to have the time and inclination to build such a practice for yourself, you still lack the camaraderie of a support institution. It will be interesting to see (if I live that long) what we come up with to replace the (none-too-soon) ever-shrinking dependence on religious literalism.

I can think of three reasons you would expect some degree of correlation.

1. People with mild depression are not generally as good at self delusion as the general population, hence they are over represented among atheists and agnostics. The cause and effect are reversed for this one.
2. As IntellectualRN stated there is a correlation between higher intelligence and both lower religosity and mental illness.
3. If you look at Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs one of the things people need is "love/belonging". Now if for some reason your personal life isn't fulfilling this need if you have religion this one is still covered, it's also the reason fanatical support of a football team or whatever has so much appeal, but as an atheist/agnostic this need is not automatically covered and isolation is a major driver of depression.

Know a bit about the topic from both personal experience and having done honours in Psych. But note in only one of those causes is being atheist/agnostic causal rather than being an effect.

If anything I feel like I am less sad because I no longer try to make sense of religion.. I do have lots of moments of frustration because people who look like me in the world are the most religious, so I feel like an alien but my mental health feels intact.

I don't know but my black dog is with me right now.

I was a happy atheist for many years. To the extent that I'm not so happy now, it isn't related to the lack of an afterlife. I don't think that I'm clinically depressed, but I probably have something amiss.

In any case, I have little to contribute, but I'm curious about what @VictoriaNotes has read about your question in the literature. The question is right up her alley.

Victoria, if/when you do respond, I think it'd be better to submit as a comment to Paul's original post, rather than as a reply to mine.

I've had some pretty severe depression for years and only recently have felt better since I made the decision to divorce. At its worst, I was in a pretty dark place and it's definitely something you will never understand until you've been there.

Getting to your main question though: I know several people who are very religious and suffer from it possibly worse than I did. They pray for it to get better but that works about as well as you can imagine.

Although I was in denial over the cause of mine for a long time, at the end of the day I did what I had to do to fix it, as difficult of a decision as it was. I truly feel like I'd still struggling for the will to live if I were the type to just give it all to God and let him handle it. Because... Oh... He doesn't exist.

As an agnostic/atheist myself, I've wondered about that too. But here's the thing: depression can affect anyone, regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof. Depression is a complicated beast, and it can stem from a whole bunch of different factors. Genetics, life experiences, and brain chemistry all play a role. So, it's not just about whether someone believes in an afterlife or not. If you're looking for more info or support on depression, I'd recommend reaching out to mental health professionals or checking out online communities that specialize in this stuff. Check this out too [outlookindia.com] . Just curious to know what you think about it.

Life consists of different periods, and sometimes it is sad. Being sad does not mean having depression. Depression and sadness are two different things, but it is important how much we are allowed to be sad, because everything depends on us and our thinking. It is important to have many hobbies, to do what we like, to have a busy schedule so that we do not have time to think about unpleasant things. A beautiful activity that can develop us is brain dump journal, when you are with yourself, and you give yourself time. It all depends on us how we see things, and whether we allow ourselves to be dominated by some internal frustrations.

Well, I am an atheist who has a better outlook on life (and death) than I did as a believer.

Every person whom I have known who suffers from anxiety and/or various levels of depression, have been believers. Among them, one is my mother--who now, thanks to her loving god's perfect plan--has dementia and my older daughter.

They have both turned to medications to help because their god doesn't seem to want to do anything to help them; but they both keep on believing. Even my mother, who is mostly gone due to the dementia, clings to her belief in her god.

I find much more comfort knowing that there is no god that could help, but refuses to-- for whatever selfish reason it has.

I am agnostic and I am depressed.
From my experience i would say atheist/agnostics are more susceptible to stay depressed.
As for having faith, gives religious people a lot of hope. But atheist/agnostics lack this basic coping skill, and they have to find other ways to cope which can be really difficult and not consistent in helping.