15.3.09

Religious Cause OCD









Most religions contains 'rituals' - prescribed forms of speech, gesture, and action - as part of the normal rites and prayers. OCD occurs in people from all religious backgrounds, and in those who have had no involvement in organized religion. Religion by itself does not cause OCD, but for some individuals, religion may play a role in the content of OCD. In a culture where religion is a dominant the content of OCD. In other words, if you had been brought up in a different culture, you would probably have developed a different form of OCD. Research has found, too, that more severe OCD tends to be associated with more religiosity and guilt.

Examples of religious obsessions include doubts about the existence of God or religious figures, images of a sexual act with a religious figure, having to have totally 'pure' thoughts during prayer, or blasphemy. Examples of religious compulsions include repetitive praying, making the sign of a cross, or repeatedly apolozing to God. They also often overlap with other obsessions and compulsions such as contamination, checking, or repetition. Sometimes it is difficult to separate normal religious practice from OCD rituals, but the key difference is the function of the behavior.