The Evil of Religious Conformity Conformity - The act of matching attitudes, beliefs and behaviours to group norms. (wikipedia definition) So one begs the question. Why is conformity an evil? The answer is reflective to the context in which conformity is used. Conforming to laws and decrees that that are based on justice and designed for the greater good of humanity can hardly be described as evil. So how can this Conform word descend from a good moral platform and slide down the scale into something that can be described as evil? The outcomes resulting from conformance may indeed be positive ones. But does this mean the motives behind conforming are always positive as well? What relevance does this have in connection with religious faith? Let us try and answer these questions as we take this discussion further. Why do people conform to things? There are many reasons, but lets look at the three main ones that tend to stand out among lesser ones. Fear. Very few emotions have the raw power to compel one to a course of action then that of fear. Even love, the foundation of Christianity sometimes takes second place to this. We conform because we fear a negative outcome, dignity destroying ridicule, material loss, persecution, deprivation, the withdrawal of love, maybe even the termination of our life. Strong reasons indeed to conform to the wishes of whoever or whatever bears the capability of inflicting theses things on us. One might think that with that frightful analysis of conformity we dont need to know the other reasons that play a significant role. But not all people are prone to fear, and despite its withering assaults find themselves attracted to an even more intoxicating enticement . This brings us to the second reason. Greed. Greed is good apparently, especially if you have attained great prosperity practicing it. For greed to work in this regard, a great deal of conformity is required to effect the desired outcome. I doubt there is scarcely a person of greed that doesnt know in their heart that greed is a moral wrong specifically condemned by Christian doctrine, but indulges in it anyway. Although not the only means to wealth, greed certainly is a powerful ally when working within a system where charitability doesnt fair so well. But not all greed is materially based. Emotional greed can be just as debilitating and unchristian. There are human beings who are of the opinion that the sole purpose and existence of other human beings is to make them happy. A vice often seen in the confines of marriage and family which might explain some of the reasons why so many of them fail. 50/50 is a concept totally lost on the greedy and self-centred. So indeed yes, greed is good, good for the greedy. Just ask them! May not be so good when an accounting for this policy is required by God. Lets now look at the final conforming reason. Acceptance. The concept of acceptance is a difficult one, incorporating many facets of the human psyche, even some of the elements in the previous paragraphs. Much of it depends on the character of the individual concerned and the environment they live in. Its common and some would say natural for people to want be loved, to fit in, to be part of something. A desire to feel safe, theres safety in numbers as they say providing a sense of power and self-worth. Acceptance and a regular dose of flattery can be mojo to the ego. Conformance with a reward of being somebody in a sea of nobodies is a strong reason to be involved in something, maybe even taking the lead. So whats all this got to do with religious faith specifically Christian faith. Lets stop at this point and have a short history lesson. Many people dont like history which is a shame since the examination of history produces a foundation of knowledge, which in turn inspires wisdom and develops maturity. People who hate history lack so much insight on the subject they dont even know what their hating. After all isnt the bible primarily a book of history? So a history hating Christian is really a contradiction in terms when you think about it, but thats another subject for another time. Fear, Greed, Acceptance. The evil traits of conformity. These were the driving forces why millions of so called God fearing Christians wilfully and wantingly gave there support to Adolph Hitler and allegiance to his Nazi state. Fear because as we all know that Nazis werent exactly tolerant of those who apposed them, often resulting in many of those who tried coming down with a bad case of death. Greed because as fearful as the regime was it was actually very generous to those who supported it. You could be a Nazi and still get rich. Something in which the communists were unable to guarantee hence the reason why they lost the fight when vying for power in Germany, not having the backing of big business . And lastly the feeling of acceptance and the sense of being part of something. You only have to view the old footage of the rallies to see the people in their tens of thousands arms stretched out actively involved in the worship of Hitler. Millions more having their thoughts channelled in one direction with the one intention, to eliminate the sense of disgrace they felt were imposed on them. When hearing what people who lived through this era and are still alive have to say, they describe the feeling of euphoria, the feeling of power, the feeling of national pride. There was nothing that they couldnt achieve, nothing to fear. Empowering the powerless is one sure way of ensuring the loyalty of people even if that power is an elusion. We all know the result of this mass conformity. The war memorials erected all over the world can attest to that. The almighty creator is not a despotic dictator, the Christian faith as taught by Jesus is not a fascist doctrine. Those who are related to us in the faith are not merely a means for us to garner a sense of safety so we can feel better about ourselves. Fear that God may destroy us if we dont do what He says, greed in the hope that He might give us something if we do what he says, and viewing our associations with fellow believers as some sort of social interaction club having a never ending source of people to invite to BBqs and camping holidays are not the foundations we build our Christian faith on. Love, appreciation, generosity, self sacrifice are the true definitions of Christian adherence. Obedience and loyalty are essential too but only if based on these premises. Blind obedience and faux loyalty derived by robotic conformity can be nothing but an anathema to the Creator. We may very well show obedience to the government of the country by obeying the laws of the country, but does that mean we love the government? In this day an age few people do which shows its very possible to be loyal and obedient even if you hate the very thing your being loyal and obedient too. So with all this said how can conformity regarding religious faith be evil? Well simply put it comes down to motive and intention. We need to ask ourselves honestly what are our motives and intentions for proclaiming Christian beliefs. Is it from fear, greed and acceptance or does the magnanimity of Christian philosophy motivate our hearts. To love our God for having the vision to share this miraculous thing called life with us and having heartfelt appreciation that comes from a thoughtful understanding of that. To uphold justice, to be generous to the less fortunate, to be selfless at heart, to have profound respect for all living creatures. To practice these Christian principles because of the rightness of such things, sometimes even making sacrifice to do so and not demanding a reward. The evil of conformity in regards to religious faith is the offering of ourselves to that faith based on selfish reasonings and not being compelled by the greatest motive of Christianity - love. Love is the very engine of Christian life and is at the very core of Gods personality. If we wish not to patronise the creator of the universe with a loveless conformity, then let our devotion be powered by love, our obedience powered by love, our sacrifice be powered by love and most of all our love be powered by love. Only then can the closest possible connection between humans and the one who made them be attained. Isnt that the desire of every Christian? julian j
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 08:52:01 +0000
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