[Religious obsessions and religiosity]

To assess the prevalence of religious obsessions in a general psychiatry setting, review sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with religious obsessions, and explore the relation between these obsessions and religiosity.

In a general psychiatry setting (n = 1500), we have studied patients with an obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and then in this sample, we have identified those who also had religious obsessions.

OCD was found in 9.6% (n = 144) of patients. Religious obsessions are the most common and were found in 31.3% (n = 45) of patients in this group. Forty-five subjects (n = 45) with religious obsessions were compared with 99 subjects (n = 99) with other types of obsessions. The total number of obsessions is significantly higher in patients with religious obsessions. Patients with religious obsessions have a significantly higher score at the religiosity scale.

These results suggest that religious obsessions are common in patients with OCD, and that they are associated with religiosity.