Religion
In reply to the discussion: Religious dagger OK at Auburn elementary school [View all]cbayer
(146,218 posts)across as fairly patronizing. If I misunderstood you, then I apologize.
If you are using the lay term, then I will give you much more leeway. However, I will challenge you if you say that it means believing in things that don't exist. Until you have evidence that those things don't exist, you have no standing to say such a thing.
If you want to define delusional as believing in something for which there is no proof, then you are using a very broad, lay definition which becomes troublesome when applied to other areas.
If you tell me you love your wife (this is just an example) and there really is no way for you to prove that, can I call you delusional?
All good clinicians master the technique that you describe. Neither disagreeing nor agreeing with them when it comes to religion or politics is the most professional thing to do. I would hope that you would never tell someone that they are wrong when it comes to their religious beliefs, even though you do seem to believe that.