Are you an addict - better be religious then

I like to believe that I live in a fairly advanced nation; one where everyone regardless of their faith - and even lack thereof - can receive treatment for their ails.

Turns out I was wrong - at least in Manitoba (one of Canada's provinces, if you didn't know). Turns out that their main addiction treatment program - and all 11 other programs they fund - offers faith-based "spiritual" treatment only. That's right - a government-funded health agency offers religious "spiritual", but not non-religious non-"spiritual" counselling to addicts.

Not only that, but the administrators of the program are completely unaware of what science has shown, and instead use a fallacy to support their fragrant violation of Canadian law:

Officials at the AFM remain resolute that recovery relies on at least some element of spiritual — but not necessarily religious — belief.

And just as a person's overall well-being depends on their physical health, it's the same for spiritual considerations, said Laura Goossen, director of the AFM's Winnipeg region.

Sorry, Laura, but that dog doesn't hunt. Comparisons of faith-based and non-faith based treatment regimens have been done and guess what - there's no advantage to including faith/spirituality when treating addicts. Study, after study, after study finds the same things - no added benefit to including faith/spirituality in addiction therapy program.

Or, in other words, Laura is speaking out of her ass. I find it amazing that a supposed expert in the area is completely unaware of the mountains of science demonstrating she is 100% wrong.

Of course, at least according to Rob Johnstone, an addict pressing a human right complaint against the Manitoba gov for their failiure to provide faith-free therapy, AFM does far more than include "spirituality" in their therapy:

[Johnstone] said he was encouraged by the AFM to find strength in God or a higher power in order to recover...And while in treatment at the latter program, he was approached to see if he was interested in attending services at a Christian church in Winnipeg

And if that were not enough - a gov-funded agency actively promoting religion, its turns out that Laura of the AFM isn't the only government official in Manitoba who lives under this delusion. According to an anonymous spokeswoman for the Manitoba gov:

A spokeswoman for Manitoba Health echoed the view that spirituality and treatment are inseparable..."Some degree of a spiritual component is common as these types of programs are believed to be more effective"

So there you have it - "blind faith" in the value of faith; a belief based on ignoring science being promoted by the government of Manitoba. I'm sure all the religious folks out there are dancing in the street - but the atheists, agnostics and unspiritual in Manitoba better hope they never need addiction counselling, because despite the evidence showing there is no benefit, the Manitoba government & health agencies are going to shove religion down your throats.

I wish Rob Johnstone, the Manitoba addict brining a complaint about this brazen abuse of government power to promote religion, all my best. May your complaint succeed, and may it force Manitoba to replace their faith-based program with one actually based on science.