Religion and Spirituality from Perspective of Public and Global Mental Health Promotion.

Since last year we have intended to devote one issue of Psychiatria Danubina per year to public and global mental health (Jakovljevic 2016). This year we supported 24 International symposium: Science and Religion – 2,000 Years of Cooperation and Controversies, held in Islamic center Zagreb, from 27 to 29 April, 2017. Both, in academic and clinical psychiatry there have been increasing awareness of the relevance of spirituality and religiousness to mental health issues (Jakovljevic 2017a). Religion, as an organized system of beliefs, narratives, rituals, ceremonies, and symbols designed to facilitate closeness to the sacred, the transcendent, or to ultimate reality, may have significantly positive role in public and global mental health promotion. The time is ripe that psychiatry and religions cooperate in joint promoting the idea of “sound mind in sound body on sound society and sound religion” (Jakovljevic 2017b). Actions which have synergies with each similar system of ideas and beliefs are good to follow in order to promote public and global mental health. Psychiatry as well as almost each religion is about individual, family, public and global well-being, purpose and meaning of life, insight, love, growth and survival of our civilization. From the public and global mental health perspective it is very important to recognize a fundamental fact that human beings are a species that has evolved to thrive on love, kindness and compassion associated with our interconnectedness and interdependency. Although human history is full of atrocities, cruelties and evil behavior, empathy (Krznaric 2014), compassion (Gilbert 2013) and altruism (Ricard 2015) have been defined as one of the most important and distinctive qualities of the human mind. Compassion, caring, prosocial and prohumanistic behavior are fundamental for well-being, mental health and our capacity to foster creative relationships with each other and the world we live in. Emphaty is the invisible force that holds society and civilisation together. It involves empathy for difference and openess to diversity. Love, empathy, kindness, gentleness, and compassion are like basic food for healthy minds. SCIENCE AND RELIGION 2,000 Years of Cooperation and Controversies Islamic center Zagreb 27th 29th April, 2017