Epilepsy and religiosity: A historical overview

Abstract

This article aims to provide a historical overview of the relationship between epilepsy and religiosity. Although the link between epilepsy and religiosity has been observed since ancient times, empirical research has not supported the direct relationship between epilepsy and religiosity in any unequivocal way. The rich reference to the historical relationship between epilepsy and religiosity often served as a kind of evidence in itself, even though observations of epileptic religiosity were far less detailed as modern scholars referred to them. A detailed analysis of the connection between epilepsy and religiosity only emerged in the 20th century. By introducing a symbolic level of interpretation, psychoanalysis significantly contributed to the psychological theory of the epileptic personality in general and epileptic religiosity in particular. The older concept of the epileptic personality (and religiosity) mixed with psychoanalytic interpretation was preserved in the Szondi Test. Based on the present historical analysis, the author concludes that the connection between epilepsy and increased religiosity was overstated in the 20th century.