I wholeheartedly agree with you that the real world should not indulge delusion. The fact that major world faiths rely on encouraging and fostering mental illness for their very existence is a horror. On the other hand, there’s research showing that religious integration is correlated with better outcomes for schizophrenic folks, if you discount the research that suggests a higher incidence of suicide in religiously-involved schitzophrenics. But maybe we don’t need more Joan of Arcs. I once read that Ireland’s secular interventions for folks with schizophrenia (focused on normalization etc.) led to a massive decrease in violent content in the voices folks were hearing. I’m not schizophrenic myself, but I hooked up with a girl who was, and who was extremely well adjusted considering the fact that she was frequently hearing shit that only existed in her world.

Sorry, went off on a major tangent. At the end of the day, I don’t particularly care if it’s a choice or if people are just wired different. What I do care about is protecting secularism where it can be found. France’s secularism was hard won, and I don’t blame them for being protective of it.