Mental health is a topic we often hear about, but not as much in the Church. Many Christians feel the pressure to outsource the conversation to psychologists, counsellors and therapists. It is usually presumed that the Church and, even more specifically, the Bible have little to say about mental well-being. In this blog, I hope to provide a theological basis for engaging with mental health, drawing on recent research I conducted as a practical theologian participating in a psychology fellowship program.
Towards a Definition
The classic definition by the World Health Organisation states that: “Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It has intrinsic and instrumental value and is integral to our well-being. At any one time, a diverse set of individual, family, community and structural factors may combine to protect or undermine mental health. Although most people are resilient, people who are exposed to adverse circumstances—including poverty, violence, disability and inequality—are at higher risk of developing a mental health condition.”
Mental health is part of one’s overall health and well-being.
A primary principle from this definition is that mental health is part of one’s overall health and well-being. Thus, as some have said, there is no health or well-being without mental health. Secondly, mental well-being touches all aspects of someone’s life, including spiritual, social and economic life. Third, mental well-being is not only constrained to an individual but is also a factor of social relationships. Social relationships can either support or hinder better mental health outcomes. How we relate with others matters for our mental health. Lastly, mental health is a factor of life realities, including abuse, poverty, violence and negative life experiences that negatively impact mental well-being.
The Prevalence of Mental Health Struggles
It is no secret that the African continent is young. An increasing youth population, coupled with high unemployment rates, can be an anxiety-raising reality. In this regard, growing rates of radicalisation, deviant behaviour and coping difficulties among the youth are unsurprising. The most prevalent mental health issues in Africa include depression, anxiety, conduct disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders, which affect 1 in 7 adolescents (14 to 19-year-olds). These similar disorders were also prevalent among a study I conducted among 187 youth in Kenyan churches.
Social relationships provide a space where young can people don’t feel alone.
Left unattended, these disorders affect the quality of life in emerging adulthood and adulthood. However, what was encouraging from my study was that many of these young people insisted that churches can uniquely provide spaces where they can build mental health resilience; some of the ways this happens are through prayer, worship and fellowship. Social relationships provide a space where young people don’t feel alone. Thus, camps and retreats are common ways in which churches can respond to the mental health challenge.
A Brief Theology on Mental Health
All this information is great. But how exactly is this connected to the Christian faith?
We Are Complicated Beings
First, the Bible makes room for mental well-being. The mental faculties of reasoning, perception, feeling and judgement are part of how God has created us as human beings.
The Bible makes room for mental well-being.
The Hebrew word translated as “soul” in English is the word nephesh. This word is found in Genesis, where God creates humanity and breathes “life” into them (Genesis 2:7). Here, we learn that human beings have both material and immaterial aspects. It is also part of the command that the Israelites are given to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul (nephesh) and strength in Deuteronomy 6:5, and which forms a central part of Hebrew worship. It is also picked up in various Psalms and is sometimes translated as “soul” (Psalm 6:3), “heart” (Psalm 10:3), or “passion” (Psalm 11:5).
The other important Hebrew word is leb, which is translated as “heart” in English. In some places in the Old Testament, the faculty of thinking is connected to the state of one’s heart. For example, the wickedness of humanity during the time of Noah is connected to the evil intentions and thoughts of the heart (Genesis 6:5). Abraham’s servant “spoke” to Rebekah in his heart (Genesis 24:45). In 1 Samuel 24:5, David’s heart is “stricken” when he cuts off Saul’s robe, showing that the heart also has a conscience.
The Fall Further Complicated Things
Secondly, a larger theological framework is helpful in understanding mental health. One such theological framework is: creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. Just as we’ve applied that more broadly to thinking about what it means to be human, we can apply it narrowly to mental well-being.
- Creation: God has created us with mental faculties that represent his nature as a wise, loving, compassionate, gracious, just and truthful being. Thus, through the communicable attributes, we represent God through our mental faculties.
- Fall: the fall of humanity has far-reaching implications for human life. Our mental capacities are now distorted, and our clear reasoning now clouded with doubt; our clean conscience now riddled with guilt and shame. Our thinking patterns are therefore distorted (Romans 1:18; Galatians 4:17-18). This also gives way into unhealthy postures in life, and life is often riddled by anxiety; the very things that are supposed to bring us contentment in life—like food and clothing—become things we anxiously obsess over (Matthew 6:25-33). We not only abuse the gifts God has given us, but we sometimes turn to our neighbours and loved ones with abusive, violent and undignified attitudes and actions. The fall deeply touches our mental, emotional, and physical life in very real ways.
- Redemption: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has ushered in a new kingdom. This doesn’t only mean redemption of our souls but also our bodies. The new identity made possible by faith in Christ now shapes our interpersonal, inter-personal, and social relationships. Through this, we are then better able to deal with pressure points in our lives in a healthy way.
- Consummation: while the full work of redemption has begun through the cross, its fullest expression awaits the future. Then all things will be fully restored to glory (1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Corinthians 15:49, 53; 1 Peter 1:8-9; 1 John 3:1-3).
God Invites Us to Bare Our Souls to Him
Lastly, the Bible makes room for better mental health outcomes when related to one’s faith. For example, the Old Testament book of Psalms promotes the practice of lament. Through pouring our heartache to God, prayer and worship are touch points, inviting us to face our innermost emotions and bear them up to God. These psalms of lament may be individual outpourings, while others are cries of the community. Both help us to cope with pain and suffering in our lives. In our mental and emotional toil, the Bible presents a God who is with us in our pain and suffering, and who has the power to alleviate them, either instantaneously or through gradual processes.
Practical Responses by the Church
So what can churches do? I have three suggestions, building on the above.
Spiritual Well-Being Prepares Us for Life’s Struggles
First, churches by their very nature are not just physical buildings. They’re spiritual buildings with God as her chief architect (1 Peter 2:5).
The ordinary means of grace are extraordinary sources of strength for life’s journey.
Psychologists have long noted that spirituality supports better mental health outcomes. From my research, the young people surveyed noted that the practices of prayer (81.3% of respondents), worship services (74.3%), retreats along with outdoor activities (68.4%), and social interactions (66.3%) aided better mental health resilience. These spiritual practices, often expressed within the communal context of congregational life, were seen to foster increased psychosocial outcomes, spiritual growth and overall well-being.
The study findings, therefore, reveal that communal practices within the context of congregational life should be supported and enhanced to promote better mental well-being and resilience among young people. This can be done by including mental health awareness issues, language and sensitivity when it comes to the liturgical practices of Churches, such as in preaching, prayers and music. Thus, the church’s ordinary means of grace, like scriptural meditation, prayer, fellowship and sacraments, are extraordinary sources of strength and support on life’s journey.
Support Should Be Multifaceted
Second, Christian congregations can also incorporate the contributions, expertise and knowledge base of healthcare providers and psychologists who can further support the pastoral care and counselling ministries in local congregations. Faith and science do not need to be seen as conflicting pathways, but complementary pathways. Christian leaders like John Swinton, have tried to merge their psychological and theological backgrounds so as to show how Christ is relevant for mental health challenges.
Faith and science do not need to be seen as conflicting pathways.
Closely connected is that congregations can partner with other faith-based organisations, who together can support the development, integration and implementation of mental health policies that will foster the holistic development of communities in Africa. This is premised on the fact that the Church also co-exists with the society around it and cannot detach its mission from the people and communities around it. Thus, mental health is deeply connected to the Christian faith, and there are resources within the body of Christ that can foster mental health resilience for our African churches and communities.
The Church Should Be Concerned
Mental health is not just a concern to be left for scientists. It is part and parcel of our everyday lives, and touches our emotional, physical, mental and spiritual aspects. Mental health realities are presented in the Bible, and more to that, are better understood through the creation-fall-redemption-consummation framework.
We must create safe spaces for discussion and nurture opportunities for lament.
This article also suggested practical ways that churches can foster better mental health and well-being—by creating safe spaces for discussion, by nurturing opportunities for lament, worship, prayer, and fellowship within the church’s liturgical life; and by partnering with Christian healthcare professionals and other faith-based organisations. This will help God’s people beyond the four walls, while also creating churches in solidarity with, as well as offering hope to, those who are battling mental health issues.
