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Bad Medicine: 3 Dr. Ben Carson Claims That Simply Don’t Add Up
" People who believe in the separation of church and state suffer from schizophrenia
The debate over church-state separation has existed since the beginning of America, but Carson arguably was the first to medically diagnose it. From his remarks to a Georgia church in October:
“The pledge of allegiance to our flag says we are one nation under God. Many courtrooms in the land on the wall it says ‘In God We Trust.’ Every coin in our pocket, every bill in our wallet says ‘In God We Trust.’
“So if it’s in our founding documents, it’s in our pledges, in our courts and it’s on our money, but we’re not supposed to talk about it, what in the world is that? In medicine it’s called schizophrenia. And I, for one, am simply not willing to kick God to the curb.”
This was clearly a joke. (We hope.) But even as a joke about mental illness, Carson’s characterization of schizophrenia as a disease that makes people have contradictory beliefs about the separation of church and state is so wrong. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia is marked by hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, physical agitation, and delusional beliefs such as believing that neighbors can control one’s behavior with magnetic waves. "
" People who believe in the separation of church and state suffer from schizophrenia
The debate over church-state separation has existed since the beginning of America, but Carson arguably was the first to medically diagnose it. From his remarks to a Georgia church in October:
“The pledge of allegiance to our flag says we are one nation under God. Many courtrooms in the land on the wall it says ‘In God We Trust.’ Every coin in our pocket, every bill in our wallet says ‘In God We Trust.’
“So if it’s in our founding documents, it’s in our pledges, in our courts and it’s on our money, but we’re not supposed to talk about it, what in the world is that? In medicine it’s called schizophrenia. And I, for one, am simply not willing to kick God to the curb.”
This was clearly a joke. (We hope.) But even as a joke about mental illness, Carson’s characterization of schizophrenia as a disease that makes people have contradictory beliefs about the separation of church and state is so wrong. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia is marked by hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, physical agitation, and delusional beliefs such as believing that neighbors can control one’s behavior with magnetic waves. "