Do you believe?

Interesting programme aired on BBC the other night discussing the differences between religious belief and mental illness" and asks the question "Could 'knowing' something is true when you have no proof for it be a definition of insanity?"
Spirituality:
Tanya Byron considers why we judge some as true believers and others as religious nuts, and looks at what happens when the worlds of scientific fact and pure faith collide. 3/4. Spirituality.

Reports suggest fewer people in Britain today follow a religion than ever before. Yet most of us still cling to the idea of life after death, spirits and the supernatural. Why do we judge some as true believers and others as religious nuts? And what happens when the worlds of hard scientific fact and pure faith collide? Clinical psychologist Dr Tanya Byron explores what some consider as the fine line between religious devotion and psychiatric disorder. She sees what happens when rational scientists try to analyse religious phenomena like Speaking in Tongues and Hearing Voices, and considers the beliefs of faith healers who claim miracles happen.
Read what the The Rational Response Squad has to say on the subject
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CLICK HERE for link to BBC iPlayer
The most interesting part for me was a psychiatrist who had given up practicing conventional medicine and who was now offering sessions to clients who suffered from all kind of psychological disorders to offer a healing ritual that involved cleansing them of "spirits" whilst in an hypnotic trance. Once again no scientific proof to support the theory but he had plenty of clients!