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The Christian faith (both Catholic and Protestant) is a rich tradition with many aspects that link it to mental health. Christian theology emphasises the existence of a personal God, one who created humans in his own image, one who humans can love and relate to, one who has emotions and feelings like they do. Christians believe that God deeply loves all humans, and has demonstrated that love by becoming human himself, and by suffering and dying on the cross to make up for their mistakes and errors that on their own humans are helpless to correct. In no other world religion does God become human specifically with the intention of suffering and dying to save humans from themselves. Christians believe that not only does God love them, but that God commands them to love each other as he loves them, and do so without conditions (even if enemies). All of these beliefs are likely to influence mental health and human relationships in profound ways that systematic research is now only beginning to discover.
The personal nature of God and especially the characteristics of God (i.e., loving, merciful, forgiving, reachable, responsive, and capable of being influenced) are what make the connection between the Christian belief system and mental health so powerful, at least potentially. It should not be surprising, then, that before the modern mental health system developed in the Western world, mental health problems were primarily addressed by Christian religious professionals. Their approach emphasised on kindness and compassion, humility, confession and forgiveness, and the encouragement of hopeful and positive attitudes and moral behaviours necessary for individual and community health and flourishing. Of course, Christian communities (and individual Christians) have not always operated by these principles and so have not always lived up to their full potential. Nevertheless, the Christian faith tradition even today have much to teach mental health professionals about how to address mental health problems in both Christians and non-Christians.
This small book is the second in a series on Christianity and mental health in Catholics and Protestants. Here I focus on Protestant Christianity. First, I will briefly trace Protestantism from its roots and describe how the faith tradition evolved over time as it branched off from Catholicism (and the reasons for that separation). Next, I succinctly summarise present day Protestant beliefs, practices and values (fully realising the ambitiousness of such an endeavour), and the differences from Catholic theology. Third, I speculate on the possible ways that Protestant beliefs, practices and values may uniquely impact mental health (both positive and negative). Fourth, I summarise a systematic review of past quantitative research literature and provide a selective review of more recent studies on religion, spirituality and health in Christians (the majority of whom are Protestant). The purpose for this research review is to document the “evidence base” on which practical applications will be recommended. Finally, I will suggest clinical applications relevant to the treatment of Protestant Christian clients and members of Protestant congregations based on (a) the research evidence, (b) nearly 35 years of clinical experience, and (c) common sense. After a brief summary and conclusions, the book ends with an extensive list of references that have been cited in the text.
The primary audience for this book is mental health professionals and clergy who are frequently called upon to help Protestant Christians deal with emotional and other mental health problems. However, researchers who conduct studies in Protestant Christians, as well as healthcare systems that provide services to Protestant patients, will also find this volume useful. Finally, I think lay Christians more generally will discover that the information contained here will be both enlightening and faith enhancing. As someone who is currently a practicing Protestant Christian, I have found my own faith strengthened as I have done the research for this book. However, as a clinician and long-standing academic researcher, I acknowledge my personal biases and have tried to be as objective as possible in presenting the material here, especially for comparisons between Catholics and Protestants, and between Christianity and other world religions.
Please join me on a journey that I think you will find enlightening for the mind and inspiring for the soul, as well as useful for your professional work if you are someone who cares for the mental health needs of Protestant Christians.