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Aspergers/autism


ithinkjesusiscool

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If you google autism and religion you will find something interesting. You will find articles about autism and atheism.
Is it really true that autistic people are more prone to be atheists? I have actually heard the opposite being argued.
Thomas Aquinas, who may have had aspergers, wrote his beautiful texts about God, eg quinqae viae.

 

sadly, I think a lot of Aspies are athiests. but those that do believe, are very devoted. For some their faith may even be a "Special Interest". Which  I don't think is a bad thing at all :)

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I'm getting a bit uncomfortable with all the anecdotal evidence that's piling up around here. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects certain areas of cognition. It isn't something that makes you more likely to be atheist, Catholic, vegetarian, or a blueberry pancake fan. There has not been any conclusive research on autism and spirituality to say - the main study on this was done based on a sample of posts taken from the wrongplanet website, where a.) there is no way to tell if study participants are autistic or not (self-diagnosing on the Internet and deciding that you must be 'Aspie' because you don't like crowds doesn't mean you have autism) and b.) website users are highly likely to come from a certain cultural and social demographic. None of the studies have controlled for extraneous factors.

 

Regarding the above post, I have ASD and also had a very strong obsessive autistic interest in religion. That interest is no longer obsessive or 'special', because such interests wax and wane and aren't usually within the person's choice/control. That doesn't mean I'm not devoted any longer and it doesn't mean that I was somehow more devoted when my interest was at its strongest. Memorising thousands of tiny details about early medieval spirituality didn't make me any more devoted than any other Catholic. Faith is more than knowledge, as St Paul makes very clear. I think we really need to avoid the pop psychology view of autism where 'being Aspie' (I hate that phrase - I have autism, not a pet snake :P ) is made up of a bunch of anecdotal characteristics taken mostly from the Internet.

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ithinkjesusiscool

Yeah exactly! That is a really strange study!
Why do you think people say that people with AS/HFA are more prone to being atheists than those whom some people call NT? There must be at least one reason?

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Yeah exactly! That is a really strange study!
Why do you think people say that people with AS/HFA are more prone to being atheists than those whom some people call NT? There must be at least one reason?

 

I think it's something to do with being so analytical. So it makes it more difficult for them to have  any sort of faith.

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ithinkjesusiscool

I think it's something to do with being so analytical. So it makes it more difficult for them to have any sort of faith.

How would being analytic make having a faith difficult? Thomas Aquinas was analytic and you know his faith...
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How would being analytic make having a faith difficult? Thomas Aquinas was analytic and you know his faith...

 

I'm just speaking of my own experience with it. (I'm an Aspie too, not sure if I made that clear)

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  • 2 years later...
MariaAngelaGrow

I am not an Aspie, but I have a very dear friend, a spiritual son who is, and he is also bipolar. I am hoping to learn anything that I can in order to help him. Thank you and God bless you.

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OnlySunshine

I totally forgot about this thread until it was resurrected.  I never did finish pursuing an "official" diagnosis because I sort of forgot about it in the grand scheme of things - full-time school and then full-time job.  Now that I'm dating a guy with Asperger's, I often wonder again if I have it, too.  I look back on my childhood and can definitely see some "red flags."  I recently took two online quizzes and one was the Aspergers Adult AQ Test and I scored 43 on it answering truthfully about my current outlook and my childhood.  The other said I had a high likelihood of ASD.  It may explain why I experience great anxiety with new social situations and stress at work (I work at a fast-paced job which can be particularly stressful in times of low staffing).  I think I may ask my therapist when I see her again on Monday if she is familiar with any adult resources for those who suspect they have ASD and are seeking an official diagnosis.

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