In patristics in this sense the expression is usually used jealousy is beyond reason based on the words of the Apostle Paul () .

Term religious fanaticism, along with the direct meaning, is often used:

• non-church people to condemn Christians who are responsible for their faith and practically express it in their lives.
• to promote godlessness. At the same time, the emphasis is on crimes committed under the banner of religion. There are two counterarguments here: 1) fanaticism contradicts the commandments of Christ; 2) atheistic fanaticism (in Russia, France, Spain, Mexico...) led to significantly more victims than religious fanaticism.

What is fanaticism? Who can be called a fanatic?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)

Fanatics (Latin fanaticus - frenzied; associated with the root fanum - temple) in ancient times were the name of servants of pagan cults, whose actions were often accompanied by the manifestation of fury. The 1st book of Kings contains a story about how the priests of Baal performed their cult on Mount Carmel: And they took the calf that was given to them, and prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying: Baal, hear us! But there was no voice, no answer. And they galloped around the altar they had made. And they began to shout with a loud voice, and stabbed themselves as usual with knives and spears, so that blood flowed over them. ().

The Holy Fathers did not apply this term to Christians, as it was genetically alien to the principles Christian faith and having a certain semantic conditionality. They always gave precise names to various deviations from the healthy Christian faith. The expression is often used in patristics jealousy beyond reason, unreasonable jealousy. “About any deed, if you do it without reflection and study, know that it is vain, although it is decent, because God imputes righteousness according to prudence, and not according to foolish actions” (Rev. Ascetic words.Word 89. About the harm of unreasonable jealousy, hiding behind the guise of Divine jealousy, and about the help that comes from meekness and other moral qualities).

Causes jealousy is beyond reason There are different ones: pride, vanity, conceit. Such unreasonable zeal is especially dangerous when it is fueled by demonic flattery: “So, he teaches others to cruelly exhaust their body with fasting, scourging, sleeping on bare ground and other similar embitterments of the flesh so that he either falls into pride, dreaming that he is doing great things.” affairs" (Rev. .).

The Holy Fathers also write about the destructive consequences of such deviations from the healthy Christian faith: “Our God is the God of peace, and brings all things God’s peace. And zeal for truth, when it comes from God, is peaceful, meek, compassionate towards everyone, even towards those who violate the truth. Therefore, you will understand that the zealous ferocity that kindled you is not from God. The enemy has taken hold of your heart and has inflamed it so unnaturally...” (Saint.).

The word fanaticism began to be actively used since the 19th century by non-believers and liberal-minded Christians who had fallen away from centuries-old tradition, against those whose religiosity was not limited to the cold performance of rituals. In the 20th century, it became one of the most commonly used concepts in the atheistic lexicon. Vague and vague in meaning, it turned out to be very convenient in an era of mass unbelief for condemning any religious activity that does not fit into the framework of the usual consciousness. It costs a person who goes to church three or four times a year (get Epiphany water, bless the Easter cake and light a candle when there is trouble at work), start visiting every month, friends begin to say that he has become a fanatic...

Holy Scripture teaches us to treat the word with great responsibility. “You will say different words: some will bring you to life, and others will kill your soul and, perhaps, the soul of your neighbor. That's why it is said: Let your word always be in grace, mixed with salt() (Holy rights. My life in Christ).

Religious fanaticism

Hegumen Ignatius (Dushein)

Religious fanaticism. Until recently, this concept was associated only with the school history course of the USSR. But something has changed. And not only here, but throughout the world. Now all newspapers are full of the words “extremism”, “fanaticism”, “fundamentalism”, and every second politician talks about “tolerance” and “tolerance”.

However, very often the same concepts for different people can mean completely different things. What is religious fanaticism?

For a non-religious person, any manifestation of religiosity at all may seem like a manifestation of religious fanaticism. He went to and began to observe fasts - a fanatic; says that abortion is a sin - extremist; Well, if he remembered Tsarist Russia with a kind word, then he’s just a great-power chauvinist.

Thus, for non-church people the concepts of “believer” and “fanatic” are practically identical. On the contrary, for Orthodox man the accusation of fanaticism sounds insulting to say the least.

What does the word “fanaticism” mean? “Fanaticos” is translated from Latin as “frantic.” Modern Russians, brought up on Western films, imagine believers to be exactly like this – intolerant, frenzied, fasting, with eyes glowing from unhealthy ecstasy.

However, such a state from the point of view of Orthodox asceticism can only be assessed negatively. Orthodoxy is generally a religion of sobriety. Spiritual sobriety. It does not call a person to exalted spiritual states, does not invite him to take off with the help of imagination or emotions into the transcendental distances to communicate with the angelic ranks and the faces of holy saints. On the contrary, it categorically warns against such “flights”.

Orthodoxy just invites a person to look at himself soberly, without rose-colored glasses. Take a closer look at what is inside, in the heart. See what is really happening there.

Fanaticism is completely alien and unnatural to normal Orthodox spirituality. In Orthodoxy there is a concept of “zeal for God.” The example of people who shed their blood for the faith - martyrs - has always been and remains the glory and praise of the Church. Isn't this a manifestation of fanaticism?

After all, in all nations and at all times those who gave their lives for their people, country, and simply for their neighbor were glorified. And in general, if a person does not have something in life that he himself values ​​higher than his life, then this only means that he has not yet risen above the level of the animal state.

The question is: is a person himself ready to die for his faith, or is he ready to kill other people for it, even at the cost of his life? And this is where the Christian sees the line between readiness for self-sacrifice and fanaticism.

For a Christian, the very thought of violence against someone else’s freedom is unacceptable. This organically follows from the Christian teaching about God: God Himself does not allow any violence on His part towards people. A Christian will defend his freedom, including with weapons, but he will never infringe on the freedom of another. Fanaticism precisely seeks to establish its “truths” throughout the world through violence.

Fanaticism is indifferent to the spiritual improvement of man; its goals are in this “earthly” dimension. This is not at all the case in Orthodoxy. The spiritual life of an Orthodox person is entirely directed inward. A Christian sees all his problems in himself, it is there that the center of his struggle is, there, in his heart, “the devil fights with God,” and there, in the depths of his heart, under the rubble of sins and passions, that treasure is hidden - the Kingdom of God - there is nothing more valuable than which in the world. This is the main difference between “religious zeal”, “spiritual zeal” and fanaticism.

This does not mean that everything that is happening around does not bother the Orthodox at all. It’s just that the main front of the struggle for the salvation of the soul is in the soul, and not in the Duma and not in the trenches. The Apostle Paul wrote: “... our struggle (struggle - I.I.) is not against blood and flesh (that is, people - I.I.), but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.” . And the spirits of evil do not threaten us with machine guns or “suicide belts”; they burst into our hearts along with anger, hatred, pride, lust, greed, and other passions.

Where the correct vector of spiritual warfare is lost, and the struggle begins not with the spirits of evil, not with one’s own passions, but with “flesh and blood” - with people, there the emergence of religious fanaticism is possible.

Are such phenomena possible in Christianity? In a normal spiritual life, no. If it is distorted, yes. That is why we find historical examples of religious fanaticism not only in other religions, but also in many Christian communities that have fallen away from the fullness of the Orthodox Church.

Islam, which originated in Arabia, conquered half the world with fire and sword. Catholicism tried to assert its dominance through the Crusades. Protestants, colonizing America, carried out genocide of the native population. Various sects often carried out bloody reprisals against those who were in no hurry to seek the salvation of their souls from their leaders.

Orthodoxy, on the contrary, is characterized by a tolerant attitude towards people of other faiths. Firmly insisting on what exactly Orthodox Church possesses the fullness of Truth, Orthodoxy does not call for the destruction of those who do not think so. Orthodox Russia For a thousand years, it had conquered vast territories, but nowhere did fires burn with pagans, Buddhists or Muslims. Many nations have turned to Orthodox faith, but always by the power of preaching, and not by force of arms. The same peoples who were included in Russian Empire with their beliefs, have never been oppressed on religious grounds. Moreover, mosques were built and lamas and mullahs were supported from the treasury of the Orthodox Empire.

When they want to accuse the Orthodox of fanaticism, they usually remember the Old Believer schism of the 17th century. Indeed, the tragic events associated with the schism did not occur without the fault of the highest hierarchs. But is it possible to consider the Old Believer schism as a phenomenon organically characteristic of Orthodoxy? Quite the contrary. The lack of elementary spiritual education among the people, excessive ritualism, addiction to the dead letter and to human traditions - all these are distortions, and not the normal state of the Church. But this is precisely what caused the split. Repressions against the Old Believers were carried out by the government, not the Church. Suffice it to remember that Archpriest Avvakum was executed when Patriarch Nikon himself had already been deposed and exiled. The persecution of the Old Believers was a pressing issue for the state, and it was under its pressure that the church hierarchy justified them. Church bans on schismatics were imposed not by Russian bishops but by Eastern Patriarchs.

As has already been said, fanaticism is not characteristic of Orthodoxy at all. It arises as a result of incorrect spiritual life. In sects, where there can be no question of a correct spiritual life, there is the most fertile environment for fanaticism. The gas attacks of the adherents of “AUM Shinrikyo”, the militant calls of the “White Brothers” have not yet disappeared from memory, and reports about the crimes of Satanists regularly appear in the press.

Only correct spiritual guidelines, correct spiritual life, can protect a person from fanaticism. And the Orthodox Church offers means that can protect society from the danger of escalating religious extremism.

“You are the salt of the earth,” the Lord said to the apostles who originally made up the Church. The church is the salt of the earth. What is salt? First of known to people preservatives. Something that prevents rotting. The further people go from the Church, the more obvious the smell of decay. Without the Church, the world will become rotten and corrupt in its iniquities. One of the consequences of spiritual rot is fanaticism, and only the Church can resist it without riot police and special forces.

Faith is like an addiction. Religious fanaticism

Fanaticism in the broadest sense of the word is commitment and worship of someone or something, reaching an extreme degree, as well as categorical rejection of other beliefs and values. In relation to religion, fanaticism is manifested by absolute passion for religious activity with the formation of a cult out of it, worship and unaccountable following of a group of like-minded people.

Religious fanaticism is one of the possible forms or stages of the development of religion, historically determined by the functioning of religion as a special social institution or subsystem in the social system.

The origins of this phenomenon lie in the original claims of each world religion to possess the ultimate truth about the origin and essence of the world, about what determines the death and resurrection of the entire human race. In all eras and at the present time, religion is the most dangerous and powerful type of fanaticism. History contains many examples when obsession with religious ideas had a destructive effect on entire nations. Religious fanaticism turns a group of people into a herd living according to imposed rules, deprives each person of individuality and inner freedom, thus turning people into a means for establishing certain tenets of faith. Specific reasons for the development of religious fanaticism in Russian society spiritual disorientation and ideological pluralism appear, caused by the collapse of the socialist system and communist ideology. This entire complex of factors that generate favorable social conditions for mass religious fanaticism finds ultimate expression in the social status and mental state of ordinary citizens, making them extremely susceptible to the spiritual “poison” of fanatical religious movements. This state of individual consciousness of ordinary citizens is psychological basis development of religious fanaticism.

Fanaticism in religion can be considered a form of psychological dependence. After all, a person, having gotten involved in this, does not belong to himself, but thinks and acts according to dogmas imposed “from above” (by the spiritual leader of a sect, for example). The addict simply cannot imagine any other life.

What makes an individual person become a crazy religious fanatic? Of course, a lot depends on the personality type. Psychologists believe that people who are susceptible to fanaticism, including religious fanaticism:

do not have critical thinking, usually act under the influence of emotions;
easily suggestible and led;
subject to other people's influence;
have not formed their own worldview and value system;
they lead an “empty” life and are not interested in anything.
It is precisely such people who are easily caught in the net of religious fanaticism. Ready-made ideas and views are easily “invested” into a consciousness that is not filled with one’s own ideas about the world, allowing a person to feel his own importance and be part of an important team.

A fanatic has extremely limited thinking, and he perceives judgments that are not related to his religious doctrines negatively. At the same time, a fanatic may not even understand the meaning of “hostile” ideas. Rejection of criticism. Even if the beliefs of an addict can easily be refuted by scientific and logical arguments, an orthodox fan will still insist on his own. Discussion with him is impossible. Labeling others. A person obsessed with religion likes to define “enemies”, for example, “pagan”, “blasphemer”, “heretic”.

Religious insanity (paranoia religiosa) was outlined by V.P. Serbsky as a separate painful form. The disease is more common in people who are unbalanced, dim-witted, dreamy, and have a penchant for the mysterious and miraculous. The onset of the disease is preceded by exaltation, a feeling of enlightenment, and voluptuous excitement. The view of psychiatrists on religious phenomena is quite broad. An extreme point of view was expressed by the German psychiatrist W. Hellpach. In his opinion, “the religious element almost always appeared in history in a painful shell and spread and underwent its decisive transformations always on the wings of mass mental illness.” Often, under the influence of religious superstitions, delusions of possession by an unclean spirit develop. Among the nuns there is also a significant number of mentally ill people, but perhaps this depends on the fact that the very entry into monasticism is for some an expression of mental imbalance... belonging to some sects, especially imbued with intolerance, fanaticism and fanaticism, as well as those in which religious the cult is combined with strong emotional excitement, reaching the point of ecstasy, and contributes to the development of mental illness.” Describing religious insanity, S.S. Korsakov noted that this disorder people with a neuropathic disposition, those with limited intelligence, and those prone to mysticism from childhood are susceptible.

According to L. Feuerbach, “religion is the consciousness of the infinite, and therefore a person recognizes in it not a finite and limited, but an infinite essence.” In faith, a person overcomes his vulnerability as a physical being, counting on certain forms of existence after death, hopes for compensation for the suffering and hardships suffered in earthly life. In its structure, religious faith is presented as recognition of: 1) the objective existence of supernatural entities, attributed properties, connections, transformations; 2) the possibility of communicating with these entities, influencing them and receiving help, rewards, punishment from them; 3) the truth of the corresponding religious ideas, views, dogmas, texts, etc.; 4) the actual commission and occurrence of the events described in sacred texts, one’s own involvement in them; 5) religious authorities - fathers, teachers, saints, prophets.

Religious experiences arise from religious faith. Their intensity, richness, and completeness largely depend on the mental makeup of the individual, the ability to imagine, and fantasy. Some believers have poor experiences even during worship. An example is the introspection of K. Armstrong: “During prayer, I desperately forced myself to concentrate all my thoughts on meeting with God, but he either remained a stern taskmaster, vigilantly monitoring any violations of the charter, or - what was even more painful - slipped away altogether. I bitterly admitted to myself that even those rare religious experiences that I had could well have been the fruit of my own imagination, the result of a burning desire to experience them.”

The immediate components of religious experience are:

Vision is the “inner sight of the mind” that is associated with distant events either spatially or temporally, often taken as a “revelation” from another world.
Awe is a sudden feeling of overwhelm, usually associated with the beauty, majesty of an unusual natural or man-made object, or that which is perceived as supernatural.
Ecstasy - frenzy, delight; the highest degree of intoxication, close to insanity, in which auditory and visual hallucinations appear. During ecstasy, according to Eastern and Christian mystics, the merging of the soul and God takes place, the elevation of the spirit, leading to a living knowledge of God.
Fear is an unaccountable, reckless and insurmountable metaphysical fear-anguish. Fear of God, piety as fear of sin.

Religious behavior manifests itself in various forms and is determined by the type of religious personality. According to G.W. Allport there are two types. The first is characterized by a purely formal attitude towards religion. It is characterized by visiting church, participating in the activities of religious communities, and outward piety. The main need of people classified as this type is to demonstrate loyalty to the church, to gain respectability and weight in society with its help. For believers belonging to the second type, the main thing is religion itself, which represents for them an independent internal value. Here the highest spiritual needs of love, compassion, equality and brotherhood in faith are realized. The religious behavior of an individual is determined by the cult that he professes. Cult (Latin cultus - veneration) is defined as a set of specific actions, rites, rituals, conditioned by belief in the supernatural, regulated by dogma and providing, according to believers, direct and feedback connections with objects of worship (spirits, deities, God, saints, etc.). P.).

Fanaticism in the broadest sense of the word is commitment and worship of someone or something, reaching an extreme degree, as well as categorical rejection of other beliefs and values. In relation to religion, fanaticism is manifested by absolute passion for religious activity with the formation of a cult out of it, worship and unaccountable following of a group of like-minded people.

The origins of this phenomenon lie in the original claims of each world religion to possess the ultimate truth about the origin and essence of the world, about what determines the death and resurrection of the entire human race. In all eras and at the present time, religion is the most dangerous and powerful type of fanaticism. History contains many examples when obsession with religious ideas had a destructive effect on entire nations. Religious fanaticism turns a group of people into a herd living according to imposed rules, deprives each person of individuality and inner freedom, thus turning people into a means for establishing certain tenets of faith.

Causes of religious fanaticism

Fanaticism in religion can be considered a form of severe psychological dependence. After all, a person, having gotten involved in this, does not belong to himself, but thinks and acts according to dogmas imposed “from above” (by the spiritual leader of a sect, for example). The addict simply cannot imagine any other life.

What makes an individual person become a crazy religious fanatic? Of course, a lot depends on the personality type. Psychologists believe that people who are susceptible to fanaticism, including religious fanaticism:

• do not have critical thinking, usually act under the influence of emotions;
• easily suggestible and led;
• subject to other people's influence;
• have not formed their own worldview and value system;
• they lead an “empty” life and are not interested in anything.

It is precisely such people who are easily caught in the net of religious fanaticism. Ready-made ideas and views are easily “invested” into a consciousness that is not filled with one’s own ideas about the world, allowing a person to feel his own importance and be part of an important team.

By the way, almost all religious fanatics are not distinguished by true religiosity, much less piety. But they are ready to defend their ideas at any cost. The most important thing for such people is to feel a close connection with their group and to go against those who do not support their beliefs (even to the point of war and murder).

Signs of religious fanaticism

One religious fanatic is unlikely to harm society or to a specific person. The danger is posed by a group of people dependent on religious dogma. So, what are the characteristics of a rabid religious fan?

• Intolerance towards other religions. This also adds obvious hatred and aggression towards adherents of other faiths. Mass fanaticism also has a destructive effect on atheists and less religious citizens;
• Religious fundamentalism, which does not accept anything new. A fanatic has extremely limited thinking, and he perceives judgments that are not related to his religious doctrines negatively. At the same time, a fanatic may not even understand the meaning of “hostile” ideas.
• Rejection of criticism. Even if the beliefs of an addict can easily be refuted by scientific and logical arguments, an orthodox fan will still insist on his own. Discussion with him is impossible. A fanatic often gets into a fight in a state of passion, proving his rightness to the last.
• Labeling others. A person obsessed with religion likes to define “enemies”, for example, “pagan”, “blasphemer”, “heretic”. Thus, he puts his opponent in an awkward position and forces him to retreat. The main task of a fanatic in a dispute is to win a verbal duel (sometimes hand-to-hand), and not at all to establish the truth “whose god is more correct.”

Currently, religious fanaticism on a large scale is inherent mainly in Islam, as evidenced by acts of terrorism, Sharia courts, and jihad. There is an opinion that this is how rabid Muslim fanatics fight the “infidels.” In fact, under the mask of religious fanaticism, specific political and economic motives that are far from Islam and religions in general are often hidden.

Can religious fanaticism be cured?

Religious fanaticism is not only a psychological addiction, but also a mania, and therefore requires intensive long-term psychotherapy. Of course, in completely hopeless cases, treatment is not only hopeless, but also impossible - for example, when a person is hiding from his family in a religious community. But sometimes help still makes sense.

Thus, a psychological technique called deprogramming is suitable for a person dependent on a sect and its religious postulates. This method develops creative, critical and flexible thinking in the patient, gradually eliminating false beliefs regarding religion and cult life. With the help of questions, the psychotherapist leads to establish the causes of fanatical behavior, as a result of which the patient comes to realize the error of his activities and behavior.

During the treatment process, the addict is haunted by the desire to understand what exactly is wrong with him, and when this moment comes, it becomes very difficult. The fanatic is fully aware that he lived stupidly and incorrectly, but the thought of how to return to his previous image remains with him. A psychological “breakdown” occurs.

The success of therapy is largely determined by the behavior and support of loved ones of the addicted person. It is recommended to create a strong and friendly team, which also includes former members religious communities and help each other overcome the consequences of their former existence, set each other up for a free and independent existence.

In general, the therapy of religious fanaticism is an extremely difficult task, which cannot always be successfully resolved. Thus, many patients become depressed and attempt suicide, because even during the heyday of their fanaticism they were programmed for self-destruction. It is extremely important for patients to understand that they are not responsible for what happened to them and that they were simply “brainwashed,” and now they are returning to a normal, full life.

Fanaticism is a painful state, blind faith in an idea and imposing it on others. Fanaticism has been and remains today a complex and contradictory socio-historical phenomenon, which has always aroused keen interest among philosophers, theologians, politicians, cultural figures, and ordinary people. The religious fanaticism of one person can do more harm than the efforts of twenty criminals united together.

Introduction

Fanaticism is a painful state, blind faith in an idea and imposing it on others. Fanaticism has been and remains today a complex and contradictory socio-historical phenomenon, which has always aroused keen interest among philosophers, theologians, politicians, cultural figures, and ordinary people. In diverse forms and varieties, fanaticism manifests itself in almost all spheres of social and human life.

Religious fanaticism, as historically the first form of fanaticism, occupies a special place among its other varieties. It is potentially contained in any religion, can develop in certain historical conditions and can be used by various religious and political groups as a means of achieving their socio-political goals.

At its core, religious fanaticism is a special interpretation of a religious worldview and a special warehouse of religious feelings. The increased danger of religious fanaticism lies in the fact that it can be used as a factor in manipulating the consciousness and behavior of believers.

1. General part

Religious fanaticism is an extreme degree of passion for religious activity with the creation of a cult out of it, worship and dissolution in a group of like-minded people; this is the ideological basis extremist activities.

Religious fanatical ideology is a perverted fantastic program for overcoming acute conflict between the interests of a particular religious group and its social opponents, an inadequate form of resolution of intolerant, historical social status a certain group of believers.

Religious fanaticism turns into extremism when there are no other “holding” forms of identification:

National, civil, tribal, property, clan, corporate.

“Pure religiosity” requires purification outside world, this is how religious extremism is born.

Members of religious fanatical groups become dependent individuals who are unable to take responsibility for their lives and feel confident only in a group led by a strong leader. The more they lose their individuality, the more they need to identify with the leader and group in order to gain a sense of omnipotence. Such individuals can easily become victims of a psychological leader conducting mass trainings.

An even more widespread impact is exerted by financial pyramids such as MMM, organized crime, totalitarian state regimes, international mafia clans and religious-terrorist associations.

Religious fanatical groups most easily attract individuals engaged in intense spiritual quest, striving for “Absolute Truth,” often understood as simple and unambiguous answers to complex questions.

2. Types of religious fanaticism

Religious fanaticism is found among believers of many religions and provokes them into conflicts both with representatives of their own and with followers of other faiths. The main types of fanaticism are:

1) racial;

2) nationalistic (chauvinism);

3) political (fascism, totalitarianism);

4) religious (religious intolerance);

5) ritual - commitment reaching the point of superstition, external form worship and customs;

5) puritanism - strictness of morals and rules in Everyday life, turned into an end in itself;

6) proselytism - attraction to religion in intrusive, insinuating and crafty ways;

7) religious expansion - the desire for worldwide domination of a religion using insidious and violent means.

The World History, unfortunately, is full of cases of religious hatred, which pushed states and peoples into religious wars (civil and international) and inhuman persecution. But also religious history peoples is full of heresies, schisms, persecutions and excommunications, which was most clearly expressed in the Islamization of the peoples conquered by the Arabs and Turks, the Inquisition of the Western Church, the iconoclasm of several Byzantine emperors, etc.

3. Causes of religious fanaticism

The main causes of religious fanaticism are:

1) political: politicians, inciting religious fanaticism among the people, have long exploited the power of religion and use it either to strengthen their power or as a pretext for expansion;

2) psychological: psychological research show that fanaticism is a manifestation of mental ill-being, a refuge of neurotic individuals who try to hide from themselves and others, by resorting to fanaticism, their internal mental conflict and the aggressiveness, inferiority complex and selfishness resulting from it;

3) religious: the elevation of fanaticism to the norm of the rules of some religions (for example, in Islam, the spread of faith “by fire and sword”) or the exaggerated demands of believers towards their neighbors, resulting from an incorrect understanding of the commandments.

4. Consequences of religious fanaticism

The consequences of religious fanaticism for people, society and religions themselves are very diverse. Religious fanaticism:

1) creates in the believer the illusion of spiritual self-sufficiency and guaranteed salvation, lulling his conscience and instilling in him a pharisaical consciousness;

2) distorts faith because it deprives it of a precious quality - love for one’s neighbor, without which faith is dead;

3) stifles personal freedom through coercion, persecution, threats, punishment, and violence;

4) pushes his victims to destroy others human lives and civilizations in religious wars;

5) causes antipathy among religiously indifferent people or people of little faith, inclining them to atheism, since they are convinced that religion, instead of ennobling a person, incites hatred in him and encourages bloody conflicts.

5. Religious fanatics

The main sign of a religious fanatic, which distinguishes him from a very religious person, is the belief that only through their favorite organization and teaching can one come to God, and those who disagree with this belief go straight to hell.

A religious fanatic is arrogant, intolerant, and aggressive towards other spiritual paths and schools. Such a person cannot be called spiritual. Often such people are completely insensitive not only to wisdom, but even to logic, to facts and common sense. They can know thick religious works by heart, hold a high position in their organization, and yet not have a basic understanding of the basics of spiritual philosophy. Religious fanatics can be divided into two groups:

1) Religious fans for the idea (their church is the coolest, the teaching is the most advanced, only they receive real revelations from God, only they truly worship, only they have the most correct understanding of Scripture, and so on);

2) Religious fans of their religious leader, who often becomes for them an apostle, a prophet, and the father of all times and peoples.

A religious fanatic derives pleasure not from his activities, but from the very fact of the existence of an ideal or idea. He dissolves in his addiction, wants to experience passions and emotions. He is not self-sufficient, which is why he creates an idol for himself - from an idea or some strong and bright personality. He finds something extremely important for himself outside of himself.

By imitating a bright religious leader, a religious fan seems to become a part of this successful personality; the radiance of a person who has achieved something and ascended to the pedestal is reflected on him. A religious fanatic transfers responsibility for himself into the hands of his idol and subordinates himself entirely to someone else's idea. He is a vain, but unsure of his strengths and capabilities. It is easier for him to live by the reflected light of his idea or his ideal.

A religious fanatic has a need for like-minded people. He is looking for similar fans, among whom he feels like one of his own, speaks the same language with them, they “relish” their idea or their hero and understand each other perfectly.

The environment of a religious fanatic is a kind of psychic association of people electrified by a common feeling, which grows in its circle and can reach unknown magnitudes.

Religious fanaticism is aimed at destroying someone else's culture, religion, and value system. Considering his idea the most correct and his leader the most “advanced,” the religious fanatic aggressively subverts other ideas and the authority of other leaders. This is done as proof of love for their leader. Because only his idol is true and his church is the best! Often religious fanaticism is a teenage disease. Many people outgrow it, but not all. IN adolescence a person begins to reject previous idols and authorities. Neither parents nor teachers no longer satisfy his spiritual and moral aspirations. They need to feel part of a group.

A religious fan is, by and large, of no interest to himself. Religious fanaticism impoverishes a person as an individual. Religious fanatics are easy to manipulate and control.

The stronger the religious fanaticism, the more a person is drawn into what is happening. Some unfamiliar energy begins to fill him. In this strange state, he disconnects from himself, begins, along with everyone else, to sincerely rejoice, grieve, and wait for a miracle.

However, the concepts of religious fanaticism and dogmatism should not be confused. A religious dogmatist scrupulously adheres to his beliefs, traditions and faith. He, like religious fanatics, can admire a religious leader and often considers representatives of other religions to be heretics.

However, the goal of a religious dogmatist is to follow his faith, his own activities give him pleasure, he remains integral to himself. Admiration for someone does not go beyond the bounds of reason for a dogmatist, does not impoverish his personality, but only complements it.

Conclusion

Religious fanaticism is a disease that brings grief and disaster through delusion, insanity, and the inability to hear and understand others. And they become infected with this disease through human passions and addictions, developed to one degree or another in every person.

Therefore, guarding yourself in passions, fighting them, being a strict self-critic is the way to protect yourself from religious fanaticism. It’s all about us, and we need to start only with ourselves, but not with a fence from others.