Religion Addiction

Dear Victorious,

Can you become addicted to religion? If so, what would be the signs?

Frank Z. - Marina del Rey, CA

Dear Frank,

Yes, I think people can become addicted to religion. Addiction is defined as "the condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something." (http://www.dictionary.com/) The same source also says that addiction can be described as "the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice ..."

Note the word enslaved in this definition. Someone might be addicted to religion when it takes more than it gives in terms of personal peace and serenity. Or they might be addicted when they compulsively operate out of fear or unnatural obsession. An example might be someone who must be at the church every time the doors are open, no matter what's going on. Or it might be someone who can't have a conversation about anything else - their religion is their entire world and whole life.

To be clear, God is to be first priority in our life and please Him is to be our highest focus. But God is not religion. The two are quite different. I would consider an obsession with God to be a core strength of Christ-followers. It portends a close, intimate relationship with God. But an unhealthy obsession with religion is not of God. In fact, it distracts from that close, intimate relationship with God that we're all called to.