Martin Luther, a 16th-century Augustinian monk, exhibited severe OCD symptoms throughout his monastic life: taking vows of silence for extended periods, repeating prayers obsessively, extending his first mass to four hours due to perceived errors in pronunciation or sincerity, and confessing intrusive thoughts about God's anger—behaviors his mentor recognized as pathological (saying 'For some reason, you are angry at God').

normativepending

Speaker

Robert Sapolsky

Evidence Quote

He took vows of silence for days on end. He would repeat the same prayers over and over and over. The first time he led a mass, what was supposed to be, I don't know, half an hour long, it went on for four hours because he kept deciding he had stumbled over a word.

Source

31. Religious Belief by Robert SapolskyStanford School of Humanities and Sciences
Created: 8/12/2026, 5:59:56 PM

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