Longheld Tensions Between the Church and Science

Historically, the church has sometimes tried to help individuals with mental health struggles. In the thirteenth century in Belgium, for example, the church prayed for those dealing with mental distress. In the eighteenth century, mental health pioneer William Tuke and the Quakers held the York Retreat that modeled humane treatment for psychiatric hospitals, including removing patients’ chains and providing a therapeutic environment with food. More recently, the Rick Warren-founded Saddleback Church in California has focused on church mental health ministries, increasing its collaboration with other community organizations.

However, in the last three decades, I have not witnessed widespread church engagement in mental health awareness and treatment. I actually left the field of social work to become a pastor in hopes of serving as a bridge between the church and the mental health field. But I have been frustrated by the antagonism between the two sectors and their ideologies.

In the mental health field, I have seen a prevailing ideology of secular humanism, which denies the existence of God and divine intervention in human lives. The field tends to exclusively emphasize therapies and medications. In ministry, I have often found a lack of understanding of the social sciences, and resistance to the valuable insights provided by psychology, sociology, anthropology, and other fields. The church heavily prioritizes relying on prayer and reading Scripture to overcome mental and emotional hardships. Those who continue struggling are condemned for being weak in faith and mind.

In ministry, I have often found a lack of understanding of the social sciences, and resistance to the valuable insights provided by psychology, sociology, anthropology, and other fields. This mistrust between the church and science is not new. In the seventeenth century, the Catholic Church prosecuted Galileo and placed him under house arrest until his death for his belief that the Earth revolves around the sun. In the nineteenth century, renowned Darwinist Thomas Huxley described Christianity as irrational and improbable in the pursuit of knowledge. Sigmund Freud, who developed modern psychology, claimed religion was a childhood neurosis. Twentieth-century American psychologist and Harvard professor B.F. Skinner denied any merit in faith or free will, believing that human behavior is programmed by the interaction between individuals and their environment.

In contrast, the Christian worldview posits that the fundamental problem of humankind stems from original sin (Gen. 3) and our sinful nature, which lead to judgment and death. Belief in the redemption of humanity and restoration of life through the death and resurrection of the incarnated Christ is foundational to addressing the challenges and issues of human existence. Any ideology that denies this truth is difficult for church leaders to accept.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all lived with the consequences of the mistrust between scientists and faith leaders. There has been a harshly polarized debate on government responses and vaccines. At the same time, mental health needs have skyrocketed due to the prolonged trauma and stress from the pandemic.  

An Integrated Approach to Treating Mental Health

The church today must fight against the shame and stigma directed toward those suffering from mental disorders. Many churches often treat people with mental health struggles as inferior, demonic, violent, or strange, as outsiders who cannot be part of the majority community, rather than seeing them as vulnerable individuals in need of care and treatment. An African American friend and minister who struggles with emotional and mental disorders told me what his parents have repeatedly said to him: “A mental disorder is a shame that needs to be hidden and cannot be exposed outside the house. Period.” This culture of shame and discrimination disproportionately affects minority communities, who already suffer from historical trauma and systemic discrimination, and face greater barriers to receiving proper help and treatment.

As a pastor, I tried to connect faith and science by engaging my church in community projects related to mental health and advocacy. One of our successful collaborations was with a program that empowered mentally challenged young adults. This culture of shame and discrimination disproportionately affects minority communities, who already suffer from historical trauma and systemic discrimination, and face greater barriers to receiving proper help and treatment.

During this same time, however, I experienced my own traumatic season. I felt like I had failed in everything. I was broken and lost. I was suicidal, experiencing panic attacks and depression, and wanted to give up all relationships and work. This was six years ago.

I was then introduced to the trauma-informed care movement, which rescued my life and rejuvenated my ministerial career. I was surprised when a movement leader said, “One of the most powerful factors for recovery from trauma is unconditional love and one person with constant care.” Unconditional love and one person with constant care. These were not medical terms or psychological jargon. This was faith-community language that I used all the time.

The trauma-informed care movement has been greatly informed by the study of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and neuroscience development. But the movement has also embraced spiritual practices for healing and recovery. The discovery of such an integrated approach was a huge yet hopeful surprise for me. I am beginning to see more Christian leaders embracing this approach, and I hope many more will.

In trauma-informed care, effective healing and recovery require a safe, consistently caring relationship, and a community that provides belonging and connection. The behaviors triggered by re-traumatization, chemical imbalance, and other mental health struggles need to be understood and accepted by empathetic and compassionate people. This helps those who are suffering to feel safe, understood, accepted, and comforted, accelerating the healing process alongside medication and therapy.

The Role of the Church in Mental Health Healing

Who can provide such unconditionally loving, caring, and non-judgmental relationships and community? I believe that followers of Jesus can. In the gospels, we see how Jesus formed empathetic relationships with those who needed compassion and healing. Jesus approached the blind, the tax collector, and the Samaritan (foreign and despised) woman, bringing safety with his unconditional love. He also brought compassion to the woman caught in adultery. As he explained to the Pharisee Nicodemus, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John. 3:17). In trauma-informed care, effective healing and recovery require a safe, consistently caring relationship, and a community that provides belonging and connection.

My mentally broken and hopeless life was rescued and has been in continual recovery because I re-encountered God’s unconditional love through those who unceasingly supported and cared for me in the church—and because my faith was strengthened by the science of trauma-informed care.  

I continue to work in the trauma-informed movement, convinced that it can help the church fight the stigma of mental illness and increase resilience through training, biblical truth, and scientific research. The church can be a trauma-informed community, strengthened with these tools and values: safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration and mutuality, empowerment with choice and voice, and sensitivity to cultural, historical, and gender issues.
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I humbly but firmly invite fellow Christians into the trauma-informed community, where our brothers and sisters with mental health struggles can be welcomed and nurtured by unconditional love and constant care to enhance their healing and recovery. Through this movement, we can be agents of Christ’s love, compassion, and healing to those struggling with their mental health.