[VickiesPath]

Recently, there have been "gentle reminders" by well-meaning administrators/monitors about posting religious views in inappropriate forums. (Not you, DocJohn, I was definitely out of line yesterday.)

What I noticed was that in the course of offering encouragement, a person would say something, for example, "God helps me with that" and there would be a gentle reminder posted about rules against discussion of religion.

Acknowledging a "God" and the reliance upon faith in support of one's mental health is not religion. It is faith. And it is a bonafide positive mental health support mechanism. A religion is a dogma used in the practice of worthip. Faith is a personal support mechanism in a similar vein as meditation, relaxation techniques, chrystals, chants, or any other method which provides centering activity for an individual. Where religion becomes problematic is when one person insists that theirs is the only true means to a relationship with "the one and only God" and can cause division and upset in an environment where the purpose is to support and encourage. It only makes sense to prohibit such activity.

I personally am cognizant that in the future, I will only post mention of anything to do with faith in the spirituality forum, so as to not offend. But relying upon God for strength is so much a part of quite a few members' support systems, it seems slightly overkill to slip in a disclaimer at the mention of the word.

Just my opinion.

[nowheretorun]

hi Vickie the Spirituality forum is like so many other things in life.. in flux, changing, growing, adapting.. i think mosts' intentions are very good and we try to allow faiths from every corner ... just for the record, i agree with you that a spiritual aspect of treatment is very helpful to many of the members and so it is hard when so many believers come together in one place.. i think it was Sky who commented that comparing is detrimental to mental health in many aspects ... no different with religions...

[lynn P.]

Very well said as usual Vickie - just the mere mention of God shouldn't be prohibited.

[AAAAA]

I couldn't agree with you more!

[sabby]

The mere mention of God is NOT prohibited here at PC. The discussion of religion is not allowed.

We most definitely acknowledge that God plays a huge role in ones lives along with spirituality when it comes to healing and supporting ourselves. (for those who believe in God or a God)

We have so many wonderful new members joining every single day, we have found that because folks are unaware of our guideline about religion that we try to gently let folks know. It is not meant to hurt anyone or to take away from one's belief or one's spirituality.

You may want to read this post by DocJohn regarding the discussion of religion and it may help you understand why we make these reminders - http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=63152 and this one as well -
http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=31475


sabby

[DocJohn]

Prayers and singular mentions of God or some other supreme being that is central in a person's life are okay and always have been here.

What is specifically disallowed in the Spirituality forum (and throughout the forums, except on the Social Groups that allow for such discussion) is discussion of different religions or religious beliefs. People hold pretty strong opinions about such topics that cannot be easily reconciled with providing a supportive, open and non-judgmental community for people grappling with mental health concerns.

Hope sabby and my posts clarify this issue once again.

DocJohn

[billieJ]

Originally Posted by Vickie in Phoenix

Recently, there have been "gentle reminders" by well-meaning administrators/monitors about posting religious views in inappropriate forums. (Not you, DocJohn, I was definitely out of line yesterday.)

What I noticed was that in the course of offering encouragement, a person would say something, for example, "God helps me with that" and there would be a gentle reminder posted about rules against discussion of religion.

Acknowledging a "God" and the reliance upon faith in support of one's mental health is not religion. It is faith. And it is a bonafide positive mental health support mechanism. A religion is a dogma used in the practice of worthip. Faith is a personal support mechanism in a similar vein as meditation, relaxation techniques, chrystals, chants, or any other method which provides centering activity for an individual. Where religion becomes problematic is when one person insists that theirs is the only true means to a relationship with "the one and only God" and can cause division and upset in an environment where the purpose is to support and encourage. It only makes sense to prohibit such activity.

I personally am cognizant that in the future, I will only post mention of anything to do with faith in the spirituality forum, so as to not offend. But relying upon God for strength is so much a part of quite a few members' support systems, it seems slightly overkill to slip in a disclaimer at the mention of the word.

Just my opinion.

Well, Vickie, I must have inadvertantly done the same thing. Someone I wanted to respond to said he had thus and so problem and added that he was an atheist. I responded to him that, although I was God-fearing, I had a similar problem, meaning that specific faith preference is of little/no consequence to the problem in question. Thanks for your warning, whitch will make me more careful and cognizant of what I say. It's hard, though. billieJ