ABSTRACT
Culture, religion and spirituality have a significant and determinant influence on mental health, mental illness and mental health services. Recently, there has been a growth in systematic research into religion, spirituality and mental health. Generally, it seemed that religious beliefs or spirituality are effective in promoting mental health and in the prevention of mental disorders. The evidence suggests, on balance, that religious involvement is generally conducive to better mental health and people who are more religious/ spiritual have better mental health and adapt more quickly to health problems compared to those who are less religious/ spiritual. Negative religious coping also has adverse effects on the individual. Negative religious beliefs have been linked with poorer mental health outcomes, including higher rates of depression and lower quality of life. In the Islamic context, there is no spirituality without religious thoughts and practices, and religion provides the spiritual path for salvation and a way of life. In the field of psychiatry, there has always been a dichotomy between religion and mental health and religion has been characterised as a form ‘universal obsessional neurosis.’ Some unexplained religious phenomena such as spiritual experiences, and Jinn possession have been perceived and labelled as ‘psychotic disorders.’ However, certain religious expressions of spirituality may become part of the problem as well as part of the recovery.
