Fanaticism is ... Religious fanaticism

Emotionally self-sufficient, self-confident, positive-minded people live in harmony with the world around them. They do not need to defend their rightness, whatever it touches. Quietly interacting with others, they bear their point of view with dignity, without the need for someone to necessarily share it. However, in the world there is another category of people, the opposite of the one described above and called "fanatics".

Fanaticism ... What's this?

However, not every manifestation of excessive interest in anything can characterize a person as a fanatic. And vice versa.

Fanaticism is an excessive fascination with an idea or person, expressed in the dedication to the object of worship of a significant part of one's life and spiritual content, as well as in implacably upholding one's own view and imposing it on others, often in an aggressive form. This phenomenon can be related to anything - morality, the famous personality, the political trend, etc. However, as its most dangerous form is religious fanaticism.

The origins of religious fanaticism

Religious fanaticism is a commitment to a particular religion and its traditions, which is combined with an intolerant, often aggressive attitude towards those whose viewpoint is different. From the moment when mankind has found its first religion, and the present trend is the same tendency - adherents of this or that spiritual trend sooner or later erect its postulates to the rank of unquestionable truth. And despite the fact that most religions carry very similar truths, so-called fanatics do not just remain true to them, they try to make them monopolistic and impose as many people as possible. World history knows a lot of examples of religious fanaticism, to which can be attributed and the Inquisition, and the crusades, and mass self-immolations in the name of the old faith ... And at different times the public attitude to this phenomenon was very different. In these examples, there is religious fanaticism in the higher circles, and point resistance to dissent. And in this and in any case, any bias of beliefs and beliefs towards emotion and irreconcilability carries a serious threat to the well-being of individuals and the state as a whole.

Religious fanaticism today

In our time examples of religious fanaticism can be found in all mass religions. Although the image of the most aggressive religion has acquired Islam in connection with a significant number of terrorist acts, from which dozens of countries shudder for many years. Nevertheless, the influence of fanaticism can be very damaging without violence. For example, parents-fanatics can educate their child against the modern canons of development and socialization of man. There are cases when in modern families, attending religious sects, illiterate children grow up, because the leaders of the spiritual current, to whom the parents of the child are committed, consider it incorrect to teach the children of the female literacy. The Catholic Church strongly negates abortion and protection from unwanted conception. And although the society has gradually developed a tolerant and sometimes approving attitude towards abortion, abortions are still banned in some countries or their individual regions, which is also considered to be a manifestation of religious fanaticism. Sometimes the extreme intolerance of people does not harm anyone but themselves. For example, ardent Buddhists do not impose their faith on others, do not argue, do not prove rightness. Their fanaticism is manifested mainly in deep concentration, numerous and prolonged spiritual practices that sometimes lead people to madness, because the trials they themselves are subjected to are often unthinkable.

Attitude to the fanaticism of the Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church refers to this phenomenon with condemnation and rejection. Fanaticism is a sin, according to Orthodox clergymen. Lack of love for all people, spiritual death, empty talk without reasoning can not be encouraged by the Orthodox. Fanatical parents, bringing with them to the service of young children and not noticing the fatigue of the child, his misunderstanding and rejection of the situation, instill in him not love for the church, but fear, irritation, unwillingness to come there again.

Causes of bigotry

Fanaticism is a phenomenon that does not arise from scratch. Like any other deviation, it has causes that are rooted, usually very deep. Fanatic people are most often aggressive, embittered, do not understand and do not accept someone else's point of view. Sometimes they become part of a community, faithfully follow its dogmas and try to shift their view of faith to the nearest circle of communication. And there is another category of fanatics - leaders who not only share and follow an attractive philosophy or religion, but through bright, charismatic actions involve a large number of people in it, not exhausted by the circle of relatives and friends. And if the former are generally harmless carriers of intrusive information, the latter represent a very serious threat to society. Every day dozens and hundreds of people are involved in the life of sects of unknown origin, turn away from their families, spend huge sums of money to maintain and develop a similarity in spirit, lose themselves in the pursuit of postulates that have found a lively response in their souls through charisma, confidence and Oratorical art of the leader.

The ways to combat religious fanaticism

Life does not stand still, most of the states of the modern world are secular. Despite a very respectful attitude towards religion, any power, as a rule, is not interested in extreme manifestations of religiosity. What measures are being taken in various countries to minimize the manifestation of fanaticism among believers? In some Asian countries over the past twenty-twenty-five years, many bans have been introduced regarding the wearing of religious clothing for ordinary people unrelated to the priesthood. Sometimes such prohibitions are caused not so much by the struggle with violent fanatics as by considerations of security. For example, a few years ago France went on the road to a ban on wearing hijabs. At the same time, this decision cost the country a lot, considering the irreconcilable attitude of Muslims to the issues of apparel. A lot of efforts to combat religious fanaticism are being made in the sphere of education. Children are being given the opportunity to choose and protect their fragile consciousness from the onslaught of savvy religious fanatics. In many countries, the activities of certain organizations that have a religion-based ideology are legally prohibited.

National Fanaticism

National fanaticism is no less terrible, destructive and ruthless. This zealous worship of the exceptional superiority of a nation or race has stained world history with a multitude of examples of bloody confrontations. One of the most vivid manifestations of national fanaticism was the idea of Alfred Ploetz about the division of all people into a higher and lower race, which subsequently marked the beginning of the Second World War.

Another example is the Ku Klux Klan, an organization that included a huge number of people who hated and deeply despised the blacks. The hardening of the members of the KKK resulted in an unthinkable number of victims who died from the sophisticated cruelty of fanatics. Echoes of the activities of this organization are periodically heard and at the present time.

The psychological nature of fanaticism

Fanaticism, which develops on a large scale, as a rule, has social or political reasons. Extreme manifestation of faith is always beneficial to someone, except violent adherents. But what does such a person do? Why does one become a fanatic, and the other, despite everything, continues to follow his own path of life, not reacting to someone else's opinion and religious dogmas.

As a rule, the reasons for the formation of a real fanatic go back to childhood. Most often, fanatics are people who, from an early age, are accustomed to living in fear and misunderstanding. Errors in education, committed by their parents, at a conscious age turn into a desire to join a group and become a part of it in order to feel security and confidence. However, one can not find peace only because there are people with similar views. He will continue to experience, worry, look for a threat in any manifestation of dissent, fight with windmills, convincing everyone and everyone that his truth is the first. This is how fanaticism manifests itself. What does it mean? Anyone who thinks otherwise, creates a threat to his hard-won peace. Therefore, interaction with a fanatic is not so easy.

How to cope with the manifestations of fanaticism in a loved one

Fanaticism ... What's this? What if the person close to you turned out to be a fanatic? Any manifestations of extreme intolerance and blind worship, whether selfless love of a star, or an aggressive desire to divide one's faith with others at all costs, are signs of an unhealthy psyche. According to many researchers, fanaticism is a disease. The family and friends of such a person should take serious steps to solve such problems. And if it is impossible to correct the mistakes made many years ago, then support, understanding, elimination of the reasons for fears and anxieties, timely appeal to psychologists, inducement to self-development and strengthening of the psyche will help to overcome this phenomenon.