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Kris

Don't know what fallacy this falls under?

Recently a friend of mine made the statement saying gay people are more likely to have mental problems and thoughts of suicide because of their sin...being gay. While I don't endorse this absurd idea, is it possible the reason behind their depression as a whole could be from how they're treated by society? Heterosexuals get depression as well, but not because of their attraction towards the opposite sex.
asked on Sunday, Apr 10, 2016 01:38:57 AM by Kris

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Answers

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Bo Bennett, PhD
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Your friend is simply making an untestable/unfalsifiable assertion based on a religious worldview. This can be an Appeal to Faith .

Answering your second part as a social psychologist, I can tell you that those groups who are persecuted the most tend to be less happy and have more mental health problems than the average person in that culture/society. We see this phenomenon around the world where those who are part of the dominate belief system are the most happy within their respective cultures. This is due to the social stigma, or more specifically, the treatment of others. We are social animals and our well-being depends greatly on our relationships with other people. This is the reason for increased mental health problems within that group.
answered on Sunday, Apr 10, 2016 05:52:07 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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mike
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Questionable cause.

No evidence supplied for the causal claim that feeling guilt over being gay leads to mental problems.

I would also add the claim that people in the gay community harbor feelings of guilt over being gay is suspect.
answered on Monday, Jul 25, 2016 12:11:53 AM by mike

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