Emotionally self-sufficient, self-confident, positive-minded people live in harmony with the world around them. They do not need to defend their rightness, no matter what it may concern. Calmly interacting with others, they carry their point of view with dignity, without feeling the need for someone to share it without fail. However, another category of people is represented in the world, opposite to the one described above and called "fanatics".
Fanaticism… What is it?
However, not every manifestation of excessive interest in something can characterize a person as a fanatic. And vice versa.
Fanaticism is an excessive passion for any idea or person, expressed in devoting a significant part of one's life and its spiritual content to the object of worship, as well as in implacably defending one's own view and imposing it on other people, often in an aggressive form. This phenomenon can be related to anything - morality, a famous person, a political movement, etc. However, religious fanaticism is its most dangerous form.
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 point of view is different. From the moment when humanity acquired its first religion, and to the present, one and the same trend has been observed - adherents of one or another spiritual movement sooner or later elevate its postulates to the rank of indisputable truth. And despite the fact that most religions carry very similar truths, the so-called fanatics not only remain faithful to them, they try to make them a monopoly and impose them on as many people as possible. World history knows a lot of examples of religious fanaticism, which include the Inquisition, the Crusades, and mass self-immolation in the name of the old faith … Moreover, at different times, the attitude of society towards this phenomenon was very different. In the above examples, there is both religious fanaticism in the highest circles, and pinpoint resistance to dissent. In both cases, any bias of beliefs and faith towards emotions and intransigence carries a serious threat to the well-being of individuals and the state as a whole.
Religious bigotry today
Today, examples of religious fanaticism can be found in all mass religions. Although the image of the most aggressive religion was acquired by Islam in connection with a significant number of terrorist acts, from which dozens of countries have been shuddering for many years. Nevertheless, the influence of bigotry can be quitepernicious and without violence. For example, fanatical parents can raise their child contrary to the modern canons of human development and socialization. There are cases when illiterate children grow up in modern families attending religious sects, because the leaders of the spiritual movement to which the child's parents are committed consider it wrong to teach female children to read and write. The Catholic Church has a sharply negative attitude towards abortion and protection from unwanted conception. And although society has gradually developed a fairly tolerant, and sometimes approving attitude towards abortion, in some countries or their individual regions, abortion is still prohibited, 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 right. Their fanaticism manifests itself mainly in deep concentration, numerous and prolonged spiritual practices, which sometimes drive people into madness, since the tests they subject themselves to are often unthinkable.
Attitude towards fanaticism of the Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church treats this phenomenon with condemnation and rejection. Fanaticism is a sin, according to Orthodox clergy. Lack of love for all people, spiritual death, idle talk without reasoning cannot be encouraged by the Orthodox. Fanatical parents who bring small children into the service and do not noticethe child’s fatigue, his misunderstanding and rejection of the situation, instill in him not love for the church, but fear, irritation, unwillingness to come there again.
Reasons for fanaticism
Fanaticism is a phenomenon that does not arise from scratch. Like any other deviation, it has causes that go back, as a rule, very deeply. 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 transfer their view of faith to the closest social circle. And there is another category of fanatics - leaders who not only share and follow a philosophy or religion that is attractive to them, but through bright, charismatic actions involve a large number of people in it, not limited to the circle of relatives and friends. And while the former are generally harmless carriers of annoying information, the latter pose an extremely serious threat to society.
Daily dozens and hundreds of people get involved in the life of sects of unknown origin, turn away from their families, spend huge amounts of money to maintain and develop a congenial community, lose themselves in an effort to follow the postulates that resonated strongly in their souls thanks to the charisma, confidence and oratory of the leader.
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 towardsreligion, 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 to twenty-five years, many bans have been introduced regarding the wearing of cult clothing for ordinary people who are not related to the priesthood. Sometimes such bans are caused not so much by the fight against violent fanatics as by security considerations. For example, a few years ago, France took the path of banning the wearing of hijabs. At the same time, this decision cost the country a lot, given the irreconcilable attitude of Muslims to clothing issues.
A lot of efforts to combat religious fanaticism are being made in the field of education. They try to give children 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 an ideology based on religion are prohibited by law.
National bigotry
No less terrible, destructive and ruthless national fanaticism. This zealous worship of the exclusive superiority of this or that nation or race has speckled world history with many examples of bloody confrontations. One of the most striking manifestations of national fanaticism was Alfred Ploetz's idea of dividing all people into superior and inferior races, which subsequently marked the beginning of World War II.
Another example is “Ku-Klux Klan, an organization that numbered a huge number of people who hated, deeply despised blacks.
The bitterness of the members of the KKK has led to an unthinkable number of victims who died from the sophisticated cruelty of the fanatics. Echoes of the activities of this organization are periodically heard at the present time.
Psychological nature of fanaticism
Fanism that develops on a large scale, as a rule, has reasons of a social or political nature. An extreme display of faith is always beneficial to someone other than the rabid adherents. But what makes a particular person such? Why does one become a fanatic, and the other, in spite of everything, continues to follow his life path, not reacting to other people's opinions and religious dogmas.
As a rule, the reasons for becoming a real fanatic are rooted in childhood. Most often, fanatics are people who from an early age are used to living in fear and misunderstanding. Mistakes in education made by their parents, at a conscious age, turn into a desire to join a group and become part of it in order to feel safe and confident. However, a person cannot find peace just because there are people with similar views. He will continue to worry, worry, look for a threat in any manifestation of dissent, fight with windmills, convincing everyone and everything that his truth is the first. This is how fanaticism manifests itself. What does it mean? Anyone who thinks otherwise creates a threat to hishard-won peace. Therefore, interacting with a fanatic is not so easy.
How to deal with manifestations of fanaticism in a loved one
Fanaticism… What is it? What to do if a person close to you is among the fanatics? Any manifestations of extreme intolerance and blind worship, whether it be selfless love for a star, or an aggressive desire to share your faith with other people at all costs, are signs of an unhe althy psyche.
According to many researchers, fanaticism is a disease. Relatives and friends of such a person should seriously approach the solution of such problems. And if it is no longer possible to correct the mistakes made many years ago, then support, understanding, elimination of the causes for fears and worries, timely access to psychologists, motivation for self-development and strengthening of the psyche will help overcome this phenomenon.
