Just curious. Why is it you say religion has no classical symptoms of addiction or mental illness? I can think of several symptoms off the top of my head that fit both, and googled the list (for mental illness) to see several more that seem to fit many, many religious people.

@greyeyed123 According to the DSM, addiction is specific to substance abuse and also impairment. While some religions may employ substances in their rituals, religion doesn't necessitate it. Religious peple are also generally not impaired in their daily lives since religion is the only area where they suspend critical thinking.

The APA and WHO include hallucinations and disconnect with reality in their definition of psychosis. Religious people will claim to hear and see god, but when you question them further, you find out they don't mean it literally. And again, they only use this magical thinking when it comes to religion. I've included some screenshots. You're welcome to fact check me.

Where did you get your information from?

@greyeyed123 Lol sorry, I was watching the AXP while typing that.

@Sdusmith I think the DSM 5 includes "behavioral addictions", but gambling is apparently the only one listed at this point.

In terms of mental illness, the list of common signs of mental illness from NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) include many that often overlap with religiosity (in my view).

Excessive worrying or fear
Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning
Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable “highs” or feelings of euphoria
Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger
Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
Thinking about suicide
Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations, in which a person experiences and senses things that don't exist in objective reality)
Inability to perceive changes in one’s own feelings, behavior or personality (”lack of insight” or anosognosia)

I also think there are many instances where the magical thinking "only" in relation to religion is problematic, when they see their religion as all encompassing. Suicide bombers clearly apply magical thinking to their murder/suicides, but that clearly causes consequences outside their own minds. Would you consider all religiously motivated suicide bombers (or religiously motivated killers of any kind) to NOT be suffering from mental illness?

It seems what you are saying is the less serious the believer is about their religious beliefs, the more sane they are. I think I would agree, except the inverse is that the more serious they take their beliefs that cause irrational harm to themselves and others, the more religion looks exactly like a mental illness.