There is a relationship between the use of mood altering substances and the belief in a higher power. This presentation was made at conference at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. I used information from a white paper prepared at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (my former employer).

1. So Help Me God
Glenda Clare, Ph.D.
G. Portlynn Clare & Associates

2. Training Objectives:
 The role of the faith based community in the
prevention and treatment of substance use
disorders
 Understand the basic beliefs of Judiasm,
Christianity and Islam
 Discuss core competencies for religious
leaders providing services to prevent and
treat substance use disorders

3. Training Objectives:
 Discuss strategies to work more effectively
with faith based organizations
 Need for established GROUND RULES

4. Why this is important?
 God, religion and spirituality are key factors
for many
 Individuals frequently make a connection to
God and religion as a part of the recovery
process
 Prayer by others has been shown to have a
positive impact on treatment outcomes

5. In comparison to those who attend
religious services weekly, teens who
never attended a religious service are…
 Twice as likely to drink
 More than twice as likely to smoke
 More than three times likelier to smoke
marijuana or binge drink
 Almost four times more likely to use illegal
drugs other than marijuana

6. In comparison to those who attend
religious services weekly, adults who
never attended a religious service are…
 Almost twice as likely to drink
 Three times more likely to smoke
 Five times more likely to use illegal drugs
other than marijuana
 Seven times more likely to binge drink
 Eight times more likely to use marijuana

7. So Help Me God!

8. What is the largest religion
in the world?

10. Three Religions Serving the Same God
 Judaism
 Christianity
 Islam

11. Judaism
 Name for God
 Place of Worship
 Basic Tenets of the
Religion

12. Jewish Texts
 The Tanakh corresponds to the Jewish
Scriptures, (Christian Old Testament) - It is
composed of three groups of books:
 the Torah (aka Pentateuch)
 the Nevi'im
 the Ketuvim
 The Talmud contains stories, laws, medical
knowledge, debates about moral choices, etc

13. Jewish Beliefs
 G-d exists.
 G-d is one and unique.
 G-d is incorporeal.
 G-d is eternal.
 Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to
no other.
 The words of the prophets are true.
 Moses was the greatest of the prophets,
and his prophecies are true.

14. Jewish Beliefs
 The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and
Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the
Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses.
 There will be no other Torah.
 G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men.
 G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked.
 The Messiah will come.
 The dead will be resurrected.

15. Additional Jewish Beliefs
 Some Jews view Jesus as a great moral teacher.
Others see him as a false prophet or as an idol of
Christianity.
 The Jews are often referred to as G-d's chosen
people.
 The 613 commandments found in Leviticus and
other books regulate all aspects of Jewish life
 The Ten commandments, as delineated in Exodus
20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21, form a brief
synopsis of the Law

16. Additional Jewish Beliefs
 The Messiah (the anointed one of G-d) will arrive in
the future and gather Jews once more into the land
of Israel.
 A fetus gains full personhood when it is half-
emerged from its mother's body.
 Boys reach the status of Bar Mitzvah on their 13th
birthday; girls reach Bat Mitzvah on their 12th
birthday.
 The more liberal movements within Judaism differ
from some of the above beliefs concerning the
source of the Torah, the concept of direct reward
and punishment according to one's behavior, etc.

17.  Jews are strict monotheists: they view G-d as
a single, indivisible entity.
 Jews generally consider actions and behavior
to be of primary importance; beliefs come out
of actions.
 Jewish belief does not accept the Christian
concept of original sin (the belief that all
people have inherited Adam and Eve's sin
when they disobeyed G-d's instructions in the
Garden of Eden).

18.  Judaism affirms the inherent goodness of the
world and its people as creations of
G-d.
 Jewish believers are able to sanctify their
lives and draw closer to G-d by performing
fulfilling mitzvot (divine commandments).
 Jews do not recognize the need for a savior
as an intermediary with G-d.

19.  Observation of the weekly Sabbath as a day of rest,
starting at sundown on Friday evening.
 Strict discipline, according to the Law, which
governs all areas of life
 Regular attendance by Jewish males at Synagogue
 Celebration of the annual festivals
Rules for calculating Rosh Hashanah and Passover
are available online at: http://quasar.as.utexas.edu/
 The local synagogue is governed by the
congregation and is normally .
 Any adult male with sufficient knowledge can lead
religious services.

20. Five Current Forms of Judaism:
 Conservative* Judaism
 Humanistic Judaism
 Orthodox* Judaism
 Reconstructionist Judaism
 Reform * Judaism

21. Christianity
 Name for God
 Place of Worship
 Basic Tenets of the Religion
 75% of all American adults identify
themselves as Christians

22. Classifications of Christians
 History
 Theological and social views
 Past schisms
 Denominations
 Specific belief
 A group of beliefs

23. Name that Denomination
How many Christian denominations can
you name? The person with the longest
list wins

24. Who Is Christian?
 Heard the Gospel in a certain way, and
accepted its message
 Become "saved" -- i.e. they have trusted
Jesus as Lord and Savior)
 Been baptized as an infant
 Gone to church regularly

25. Who Is Christian?
 Recited and agreed with a specific church
creed or creeds
 Simply tried to understand and follow Jesus'
teachings
 Led a decent life

26. Beliefs Many Christian Denominations
Have in Common
 The Trinity
 The deity of Jesus
 Jesus' bodily resurrection
 Jesus' atonement

27. Beliefs Many Denominations Have in
Common
 Personal salvation by grace
 The inspiration of God on the Bible's authors
 The virgin birth
 The anticipated second coming of Jesus

28. Common Christian
Practices

29. Islam
 Name for God
 Place of Worship
 Basic Tenets of the
Religion

30.  The second largest religion in the world and
growing

31. Islamic Beliefs
 A single, indivisible God.
 The angels.
 The divine scriptures,
 The Messengers of God
 The Day of Judgment
 The supremacy of God's will.

32. Beliefs about Jesus (pbuh), within
Islam
Muslims believe:
His birth was miraculous.
He was the Messiah.
He cured people of illness & restored dead people to life.
Muslims do not believe:
In original sin (that everyone inherits a sinful nature because of
Adam and Eve's transgression) That Jesus (pbuh) was killed
during a crucifixion. Muslims believe that he escaped being
executed, and later reappeared to his disciples without having
first died. That Jesus (pbuh) was resurrected (or resurrected
himself) circa 30 CE. Salvation is dependent either upon belief in
the resurrection of Jesus (pbuh) (as in Paul's writings) or belief
that Jesus (pbuh) is the Son of God (as in the Gospel of John).

33. Other Beliefs
 God did not have a son.
 Jesus (pbuh) is a prophet, born of the Virgin
Mary.
 Jesus (pbuh) was not executed on the cross.
 The existence of Satan drives people to sin.
 Muslims who sincerely repent and submit to
God return to a state of sinlessness.

34. Other Beliefs (continued)
 All people are considered children of Adam. Islam
officially rejects racism.
 When a child reaches puberty an account of their
deeds is opened in Paradise.
 When the person dies, their eventual destination
(Paradise or Hell) depends on the balance of their
good deeds
 Alcohol, illegal drugs, eating of pork, etc. are to be
avoided.
 Gambling is to be avoided.

35. Five Pillars of Faith
1. To recite at least once during their lifetime the
shahadah (the creed: "There is no God but God
and Muhammad is his Prophet"). Most Muslims
repeat it at least daily.
2. To perform the salat (prayer) 5 times a day, if
possible.
3. To donate regularly to charity through zakat.
4. To fast during the lunar month of Ramadan
5. If economically and physically able, to make at
least one hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.

36. Jihad (struggle) is probably the most
misunderstood religious word in
existence

37. Calendar: Muslims follow a lunar calendar
Separation of church and state: originally there was
no separation between religious and civil law,
between Islam and the state
Proselytizing: Muslims are not required to actively
recruit others to Islam
"You certainly cannot guide whomever you please; It is
Allah who guides whom He will. He best knows
those who accept guidance." (28:56).
Suicide: This is forbidden. The Qur'an clearly states:
"Do not kill yourselves as God has been to you very
merciful" (4:29)

38. Schools within Islam:
 There are different schools of jurisprudence within Islam. The
main divisions are:
 Sunni Muslims: These are followers of the Hanifa, Shafi,
Hanibal and Malik schools. They constitute a 90% majority of the
believers, and are considered to be main stream traditionalists
 Shi'ite Muslims: These are followers of the Jafri school who
constitute a small minority of Islam.
 Sufism: This is a mystic tradition in which followers seek inner
knowledge directly from God through meditation and ritual and
dancing.
 Islam does not have denominational mosques. Members are
welcome to attend any mosque in any land.

39. So Help Me God!

40. The Addiction Envoy
Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1
Faith-Based Initiatives
The Addiction Envoy is
organized into five sections:
1) Integrating the Sacred
and Secular Prevention and
Treatment of Substance
Use Disorders; 2) Funding
Resources Available for
Faith-Based Organizations;
3) Grant-writing 101; 4)
Resource of the Month and
5) What’s Happening Now.
http://www.sattc.org/products.htm

41. Substance Abuse, Religion and Sp
This monograph provides a
background paper entitled
"Substance Abuse, Religion
and Spirituality: Policy Issues
for Prevention and Treatment"
by James A. Neal, M.C.J.,
CSPP and Kay Gresham,
LCSW, ACSW, prepared for
the Leadership Institute of the
SES and includes the
consensus report of the
participants for this event.
http://www.sattc.org/products.htm

42. What people
say they believe
and want?
What health and
human services
believe and
what they do?
What faith leaders
believe and what
they do?

43. The Disconnect
 Incomplete knowledge of resources in the
community and in the faith based
organization
 Discomfort about discussing substance use
disorders and related issues
 Discomfort about discussing religion

44. The Disconnect
 Lack of knowledge or interest in medical
aspects of substance use disorders
 Lack of knowledge or interest in spiritual
aspects of recovery
 Judging & shaming behaviors

45. Incomplete knowledge of
resources in the community
and in the faith based
organization
What do you know?
What do the faith based communities
you want to interact with know?

46. Discomfort about discussing
substance use disorders and
related issues
Whose discomfort is it?
What are the views of the faith based entities you want
to work with on this matter?
Has any work been done on this issue anywhere?
Who are your gate keepers? And who is the best
person to approach the gate?

47. Discomfort about
discussing religion
What do you know about the religion?
Are you willing to learn more about the religion or are
you trying to change people to your religion?
What is the religious perspective on this issue? Are you
willing to accept the religious perspective on this issue?

48. Lack of knowledge or interest
in medical aspects of
substance use disorders
Is there a lack of knowledge or interest?
Why might that be? How might this
topic be bridged and who would be the
appropriate person to bridge the topic?

49. Lack of knowledge or interest
in spiritual aspects of
recovery
Is there a lack of knowledge or interest?
Why might that be? How might this
topic be bridged and who would be the
appropriate person to bridge the topic