Researchers have long been interested in the relationship among the separate fields of psychology and religion. This dissertation seeks to explore the differences in the way protestant Christians with various religious orientations view mental illness and how these views relate to their attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help.

A total of 540 individuals from church congregations representing ten different denominations completed measures of religiosity, beliefs about mental illness, and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Scores on these measures were analyzed to observe group differences between religious orientations and correlations among the orientations and dependent variables of belief about mental illness and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help.

Analyses revealed significant group differences between extrinsic religiosity and all other religious orientations as it pertained to stereotypical beliefs about mental illness. Also, results showed a small but significant negative correlation between intrinsic religiosity and belief about mental illness, a significant positive correlation between extrinsic religiosity and belief about mental illness, and weak but significant negative correlation between intrinsic religiosity and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Finally, hierarchical regression analysis showed a weak but significant predictor model with religious orientation and belief about mental illness as valid predictors of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help.

In the final chapter, results are discussed along with study limitations. Implications for practice and future research are presented.