Religious delusion discussion with no actionable political or financial leads

lam God! Across the globe, in Eastern and Western cultures, clinicians have reported a consistent pattern of psychotic delusion, typically associated with schizophrenia: many believe that they are God, God’s messenger, or the Devil, equipped with extraordinary, invincible powers. This is the same disorder that led the Australian gentleman we encountered at the start of this chapter to believe that he had two heads and heard the voices of Jesus and Abraham. Estimates reveal a greater number of cases among Catholic than Islamic or Protestant societies, and the fewest among Hindu societies, although experts are uncertain as to why such particular biases exist. The interesting point 1s that there are individual differences in the expression of religious delusions that are at least partially mediated by the particular beliefs and customs of the religion. Religious delusions are also held with greater conviction than other delusions, more resistant to change, and often result in self-mutilation or harming others; when harm occurs, it follows the narrative from a religious text, plucking out eyes or cutting off genitals as the means to cleansing sins. What makes religious delusions like these, in which the individual has created a narrative of supreme confidence and power, different from non-delusional, non-psychotic forms of distortion? In a Gallup poll, 10% of the Americans surveyed claimed they had spoken with the devil. In several psychological experiments, healthy non-psychotic subjects consistently report that they are smarter than most, more attractive, and more likely to win than lose an athletic competition. Though some of these people are correct — they are in fact smarter, more attractive, and better competitors — most are wrong and yet believe they are right. What this research reveals is that we all suffer, some more than others, from positive illusions — biases that distort our sense of confidence, control, and invincibility These illusions differ from delusions in that they are less fixed, more flexible, and more amenable to change. Delusions are highly maladaptive, a signature of brain dysfunction, and the source of great suffering. Positive illusions, in contrast, are often highly adaptive, generating the confidence necessary to take on great challenges and challengers, convincing an audience or a group of opponents that we are stronger, smarter, and sexier. Positive illusions have been linked to direct mental and physical health benefits, including evidence that distorted optimism can slow disease progression. Positive illusions are, as noted by the biologists Richard Wrangham, Robert Trivers, and Dominic Johnson, a form of self-deception with considerable evolutionary benefits. But like the runaway capacity of desire, so too can our illusions of grandeur runaway. When this occurs, illusion and delusion are virtually indistinguishable. What was once a narrative centered on the grandiose belief of being god-like has been transformed into the belief of being God, leading individuals and groups to engage in extreme extortion or violence, not only blind to Hauser Chapter 3. Ravages of denial iil HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_012857