A leading academic has claimed that religious  fundamentalism could soon be treated in  the same way as mental illness.

Kathleen Taylor, a science author and  research scientist at the University of Oxford, told the Hay Literary Festival  techniques were already under development to help curb radicalised  beliefs.

She also claimed behaviours such as hitting  children could be treated with similar techniques.

Inside the mind: A leading researcher says Muslim  fundamentalism could one day be ‘cured’ and treated in the same way as mental  illness

‘One man’s positive can be another man’s  negative,’ she told the festival, according to The Times.

‘One of the surprises may be to see people  with certain beliefs as people who can be treated.

‘Somebody who has for example become  radicalised to a cult ideology – we might stop seeing that as a personal choice  that they have chosen as a result of pure free will and may  start treating it  as some kind of mental disturbance.’

The author claimed that society could begin see those  who have joined a cult or become engulfed by extreme views as suffering mental  illness

‘In many ways that could be a very  positive  thing because there are no doubt beliefs in our society that do a heck of a lot  of damage, that really do a lot of harm.

The controversial claim could also help treat  problems such as child abuse, she said.

‘I am  not just talking about the obvious candidates like radical Islam or some of the  more extreme cults.

‘I am talking about things like the belief  that it is OK to beat your children.

‘These beliefs are very harmful but are not  normally categorised as mental illness.’

Miss Taylor has written series of books  on  the future of neurology, and says advances such as dream reading,  mind control  and others could soon create major privacy issues.

Read more: DailyMail