Mental Health and People of Faith - Responding in a Time of Crisis

Dorothea Dix

Equual Access believes that associating mental illness with violence is harmful, especially for a religious organization.

First, it is not consistent with the facts regarding the origination of violence in our society.

Second, many people in a congregation are living with a mental illness in themselves or a loved one and come to church in part for hope in dealing with the situation. Hearing a religious figure immediately jump to the conclusion that violence must have been due to their mental condition may well keep them from seeking out help in a crisis situation as well as make them afraid of themselves or their loved ones. We do not need to make it harder for them to receive hope and support from their religious community.

Third, such comments continue the stigmatization of and discrimination against people with mental illness and violate our Unitarian Universalist principles.

The website of Equual Access offers a 3-Point Plan for Unitarian Universalists to use for reflection and action to counteract the harmfulness of dehumanizing and scapegoating people who have a mental illness.