Is Religion the source of nightmares?

[Tye]

Today I was thinking about how I used to have nightmares as a child but no longer do at all, and I came to the conclusion that as a child I was afraid of demons, monsters, etc. because I thought they were real due to my religion(Catholicism). But, now I think the reason I no longer have nightmares due to the fact that nothing supernatural exists to me so there is no reason for me to be afraid of such things so they don't cross my mind.

[Linkzelda]

Today I was thinking about how I used to have nightmares as a child but no longer do at all, and I came to the conclusion that as a child I was afraid of demons, monsters, etc. because I thought they were real due to my religion(Catholicism). But, now I think the reason I no longer have nightmares due to the fact that nothing supernatural exists to me so there is no reason for me to be afraid of such things so they don't cross my mind. I wouldn't say religion is the source of nightmares, seeing how nightmares come about can be due to many factors that aren't as consistent as they seem, be it: - Repressed memories - Insecurities towards family members/friends/strangers/etc. - Insecurities towards sense of self and who you are in this reality and dreams - Temperature of the room - The dream plot randomizing and happening to turn into a nightmare - Something that needs to be changed in your life, so the theme in the dream might encroach your mind like a plague - And many more reasons Religion itself is just one component, and it can encompass all of those points I mentioned above and much more, but it's not really the "only" or "the" source. Maybe the upbringing itself (the rearing of the child with parents of a similar religion teaching them a certain medium of faith) could be one of the most apparent sources, but not just the only source. When you find yourself becoming detached from the predispositions about dreaming of demons and entities being "real" and "scary," it can be a pleasant experience of not taking them so seriously. But it doesn't mean one can be devoid of having nightmares for other reasons, and with the lucid dreaming phenomenon having its own variables on what people eventually consider a nightmare, religion is still just one of many factors.

[JoannaB]

I think childhood is one source of nightmares. Children in general have more nightmares and usually worse ones than grown ups do. Part of that may be figuring out what is real and what is not, that one does not need to be scared of monsters because they do not exist. Part of it may be learning how to deal with dreams: I think even kids who do not consciously have lucid dreams may learn some kind of skills to subconsciously apply to deal with nightmares, so that later on the nightmares can be handled. I am sure there are many other parts to it. Also your theory of blaming it on religion will not work because even religious people like myself who stay religious once grown up have fewer nightmares than we had in childhood. Not all grown ups have fewer nightmares of course, some people are plagued by nightmares even into old age, and I would be very surprised if religion were the main factor that divided people like that from those who have few nightmares. People who had more bad stuff happen to them in waking life tend to have more nightmares at night.