The Merriam Webster Dictionary describes Addiction as a compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.
In his article When Religion is an Addiction Dr. Bob Minor, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas, states:
Like substance addictions, it (religion) takes over, dominates life, pushes other issues to the background, tells them how and what to feel to prevent them from facing their real feelings about themselves and life, creates a mythology about the world, protects its "stash," and supports their denial that they have a problem. Addiction specialist Anne Wilson Schaef would say, like all addictions, religious addiction is progressive and fatal.
Of course Dr. Minor was referring only to the dangers of religious addiction, and this diary is not intended as a blanket criticism of religious faith. However, where Mormonism is concerned, you must be aware of the threat it poses, not only to its members but society in general.
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