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A messiah complex (Christ complex or savior complex) is a state of mind in which an individual holds a belief that they are destined to become a savior today or in the near future.^[2]^[3] The term can also refer to a state of mind in which an individual believes that they are responsible for saving or assisting others.

Religious delusion

The term "messiah complex" is not addressed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), as it is not a clinical term nor diagnosable disorder. However, the symptoms as a proposed disorder closely resemble those found in individuals with delusions of grandeur or that they have grandiose self-images that veer towards the delusional.^[4] An account specifically identified it as a category of religious delusion, which pertains to strong fixed beliefs that cause distress or disability. It is the type of religious delusion that is classified as grandiose while the other two categories are: persecutory and belittlement.^[5] According to philosopher Antony Flew, an example of this type of delusion was the case of Paul, who declared that God spoke to him, telling him that he would serve as a conduit for people to change.^[6] The Kent–Flew thesis argued that his experience entailed auditory and visual hallucinations.^[6]

Examples

In terms of the attitude wherein an individual sees themselves as having to save another or a group of poor people, there is the notion that the action inflates their own sense of importance and discounts the skills and abilities of the people they are helping to improve their own lives.^[7]

The messiah complex is most often reported in patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. When a messiah complex is manifested within a religious individual after a visit to Jerusalem, it may be identified as a psychosis known as Jerusalem syndrome.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b "Whatever happened to Laszlo Toth, the man who smashed Michelangelo's Pieta in 1972?", The Guardian, 2011
^ "Messiah Complex Psychology". flowpsychology.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
^ Kelsey, Darren (2017). Media and Affective Mythologies: Discourse, Archetypes and Ideology in Contemporary Politics. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 155. ISBN 978-3319607580.
^ Haycock, Dean (2016). Characters on the Couch: Exploring Psychology through Literature and Film: Exploring Psychology through Literature and Film. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 151. ISBN 978-1440836985.
^ Clarke, Isabel (2010). Psychosis and Spirituality: Consolidating the New Paradigm (2d ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 240. ISBN 978-0470683484.
^ ^a ^b Habermas, Gary; Flew, Antony (2005). Resurrected?: An Atheist and Theist Dialogue. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 9. ISBN 0742542254.
^ Corbett, Steve; Fikkert, Brian (2014). Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions: Leader's Guide. Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-0802491886.^{[page needed]}
^ "Dangerous delusions: The Messiah Complex and Jerusalem Syndrome". Freethought Nation. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

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[G-1] "Whatever happened to Laszlo Toth, the man who smashed Michelangelo's Pieta in 1972?", The Guardian, 2011

[2] "Messiah Complex Psychology". flowpsychology.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

[3] Kelsey, Darren (2017). Media and Affective Mythologies: Discourse, Archetypes and Ideology in Contemporary Politics. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 155. ISBN 978-3319607580.

[:1-4] Haycock, Dean (2016). Characters on the Couch: Exploring Psychology through Literature and Film: Exploring Psychology through Literature and Film. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 151. ISBN 978-1440836985.

[5] Clarke, Isabel (2010). Psychosis and Spirituality: Consolidating the New Paradigm (2d ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 240. ISBN 978-0470683484.

[:2-6] Habermas, Gary; Flew, Antony (2005). Resurrected?: An Atheist and Theist Dialogue. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 9. ISBN 0742542254.

[7] Corbett, Steve; Fikkert, Brian (2014). Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions: Leader's Guide. Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-0802491886.^{[page needed]}

[8] "Dangerous delusions: The Messiah Complex and Jerusalem Syndrome". Freethought Nation. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|State of mind where a person believes they are a savior or will be}}
 {{For|the comic book|X-Men: Messiah Complex}}
 [[File:Laszlo Toth (vandal).png|thumb|right|[[Laszlo Toth]] vandalized [[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Michelangelo's ''Pietà'']] with a hammer, shouting "I am Jesus Christ – risen from the dead".<ref name=G>{{citation |url = https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2565,00.html |title=Whatever happened to Laszlo Toth, the man who smashed Michelangelo's Pieta in 1972? | newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |year=2011}}</ref>  He was legally found to be socially dangerous and committed to a psychiatric hospital.{{r|G}}]]
-A '''messiah complex''' ('''Christ complex''' or '''savior complex''') is a state of mind in which an individual holds a belief that they are destined to become a [[Messiah|savior]] today or in the near future.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://flowpsychology.com/messiah-complex-psychology/|title=Messiah Complex Psychology|work=flowpsychology.com|access-date=25 July 2015|archive-date=21 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321235316/http://flowpsychology.com/messiah-complex-psychology/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Media and Affective Mythologies: Discourse, Archetypes and Ideology in Contemporary Politics|last=Kelsey|first=Darren|date=2017|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=978-3-319-60758-0|location=Cham, Switzerland|pages=155}}</ref> The term can also refer to a state of mind in which an individual believes that they are responsible for saving or assisting others.
+A '''messiah complex''' ('''Christ complex''' or '''savior complex''') is a state of mind in which an individual holds a belief that they are destined to become a [[Messiah|savior]] today or in the near future.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://flowpsychology.com/messiah-complex-psychology/|title=Messiah Complex Psychology|work=flowpsychology.com|access-date=25 July 2015|archive-date=21 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321235316/http://flowpsychology.com/messiah-complex-psychology/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Media and Affective Mythologies: Discourse, Archetypes and Ideology in Contemporary Politics|last=Kelsey|first=Darren|date=2017|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=978-3319607580|location=Cham, Switzerland|pages=155}}</ref> The term can also refer to a state of mind in which an individual believes that they are responsible for saving or assisting others.
 == Religious delusion ==
-The term "messiah complex" is not addressed in the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]]'' (DSM), as it is not a clinical term nor diagnosable disorder. However, the symptoms as a proposed disorder closely resemble those found in individuals with [[grandiose delusions|delusions of grandeur]] or that they have grandiose [[self-image]]s that veer towards the delusional.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Characters on the Couch: Exploring Psychology through Literature and Film: Exploring Psychology through Literature and Film|last=Haycock|first=Dean|date=2016|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=9781440836985|location=Santa Barbara, CA|pages=151}}</ref> An account specifically identified it as a category of religious delusion, which pertains to strong fixed beliefs that cause distress or disability.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Psychosis and Spirituality: Consolidating the New Paradigm, Second Edition|last=Clarke|first=Isabel|publisher=[[Wiley Blackwell]]|year=2010|isbn=9780470683484|location=Oxford|pages=240}}</ref> It is the type of religious delusion that is classified as grandiose while the other two categories are: persecutory and belittlement.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Psychosis and Spirituality: Consolidating the New Paradigm, Second Edition|last=Clarke|first=Isabel|date=2010|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=9780470683484|location=Hoboken, NJ|pages=240}}</ref> According to philosopher [[Antony Flew]], an example of this type of delusion was the case of [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]], who declared that God spoke to him, telling him that he would serve as a conduit for people to change.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Resurrected?: An Atheist and Theist Dialogue|last=Habermas|first=Gary|last2=Flew|first2=Antony|date=2005|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]]|isbn=0742542254|location=Oxford|pages=9}}</ref> The [[Jack A. Kent|Kent]]–[[Antony Flew|Flew]] thesis argued that his experience entailed auditory and visual hallucinations.<ref name=":2" />
+The term "messiah complex" is not addressed in the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]]'' (DSM), as it is not a clinical term nor diagnosable disorder. However, the symptoms as a proposed disorder closely resemble those found in individuals with [[grandiose delusions|delusions of grandeur]] or that they have grandiose [[self-image]]s that veer towards the delusional.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Characters on the Couch: Exploring Psychology through Literature and Film: Exploring Psychology through Literature and Film|last=Haycock|first=Dean|date=2016|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-1440836985|location=Santa Barbara, CA|pages=151}}</ref> An account specifically identified it as a category of religious delusion, which pertains to strong fixed beliefs that cause distress or disability. It is the type of religious delusion that is classified as grandiose while the other two categories are: persecutory and belittlement.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Psychosis and Spirituality: Consolidating the New Paradigm |edition=2d |last=Clarke|first=Isabel|date=2010|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-0470683484|location=Hoboken, NJ|page=240}}</ref> According to philosopher [[Antony Flew]], an example of this type of delusion was the case of [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]], who declared that God spoke to him, telling him that he would serve as a conduit for people to change.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Resurrected?: An Atheist and Theist Dialogue|last=Habermas|first=Gary|last2=Flew|first2=Antony|date=2005|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]]|isbn=0742542254|location=Oxford|pages=9}}</ref> The [[Jack A. Kent|Kent]]–[[Antony Flew|Flew]] thesis argued that his experience entailed auditory and visual hallucinations.<ref name=":2" />
 == Examples ==
-In terms of the attitude wherein an individual sees themselves as having to save another or a group of poor people, there is the notion that the action inflates their own sense of importance and discounts the skills and abilities of the people they are helping to improve their own lives.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions: Leader's Guide|last=Corbett|first=Steve|last2=Fikkert|first2=Brian|date=2014|publisher=[[Moody Publishers]]|isbn=978-0-8024-9188-6}}</ref>
+In terms of the attitude wherein an individual sees themselves as having to save another or a group of poor people, there is the notion that the action inflates their own sense of importance and discounts the skills and abilities of the people they are helping to improve their own lives.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions: Leader's Guide|last=Corbett|first=Steve|last2=Fikkert|first2=Brian|date=2014|publisher=[[Moody Publishers]]|isbn=978-0802491886}}{{page?}}</ref>
 The messiah complex is most often reported in patients with [[bipolar disorder]] and [[schizophrenia]]. When a messiah complex is manifested within a religious individual after a visit to [[Jerusalem]], it may be identified as a [[psychosis]] known as [[Jerusalem syndrome]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freethoughtnation.com/dangerous-delusions-the-messiah-complex-and-jerusalem-syndrome/|title=Dangerous delusions: The Messiah Complex and Jerusalem Syndrome|work=[[Freethought Nation]]|access-date=25 July 2015|archive-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216080915/http://freethoughtnation.com/dangerous-delusions-the-messiah-complex-and-jerusalem-syndrome/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 == See also ==
-*[[Cassandra complex]]
+* [[Cassandra complex]]
-*[[Chosen people]]
+* [[Chosen people]]
-*[[God complex]]
+* [[God complex]]
-*[[List of avatar claimants]]
+* [[List of avatar claimants]]
-*[[List of Buddha claimants]]
+* [[List of Buddha claimants]]
-*[[List of Mahdi claimants]]
+* [[List of Mahdi claimants]]
-*[[List of messiah claimants]]
+* [[List of messiah claimants]]
-*[[List of people claimed to be Jesus]]
+* [[List of people claimed to be Jesus]]
-*[[Mental health of Jesus]]
+* [[Mental health of Jesus]]
-*[[Messianism]]
+* [[Messianism]]
-*[[White savior]]
+* [[White savior]]
-== References<!-- The reference used for citation 7 has no professional basis in psychology; The authors of that reference are specialized primarily in economics. The line in this article that uses that reference refers to an idea that the Messiah Complex is narcissistic in nature. That would not be much of an issue had if this article had been excluded from Wikipedia's 'Narcissism' subcategory.  -->==
+==References<!-- The reference used for citation 7 has no professional basis in psychology; The authors of that reference are specialized primarily in economics. The line in this article that uses that reference refers to an idea that the Messiah Complex is narcissistic in nature. That would not be much of an issue had if this article had been excluded from Wikipedia's 'Narcissism' subcategory.  -->==
 {{reflist}}

v t e Narcissism
Similar personality concepts	Egomania Egotism God complex Healthy narcissism Hubris Machiavellianism Messiah complex Narcissus (mythology) Superiority complex
In society	Collective narcissism Don Juanism In the workplace Leadership Me generation Parents
Pathological narcissism	Narcissistic personality disorder history Dark triad Malignant narcissism Manipulation (psychology) Narcissistic injury neurosis elation mortification supply withdrawal Narcissistic Personality Inventory
Related psychology concepts	Compensation Empathy Entitlement Grandiosity
Category