Some time last autumn, I was chatting with an acquaintance about toxic beliefs from childhood. He said he was surprised that many people avoid changing such beliefs, sometimes finding excuses, sometimes even reacting with hostility if they disagree with others’ opinions. I said (approximately): “It’s because мы привязываемся к нашим семьям с помощью таких убеждений, and on some level we feel that it helps our survival – it’s almost like religion sometimes.”
I blurted that last part out without too much thinking, but then it struck me – it это очень похожа на религию. Religion serves the same purpose – group cohesion, mutual support, encouraging each other’s survival – on a wider scale than biological family. Family bonds are created naturally, automatically; weaker tribal bonds require something more in order to motivate people to invest extra effort into activities that benefit the tribe.
I’m quite aware that many anthropologists must have come to the same conclusion long before me, but it was still quite a revelation to me because of all the psychological conclusions that follow.
It makes sense, then, that most religions require suspension of disbelief and upholding certain traditions that don’t make much sense in modern times. It’s a way of testing people: “Are you with us, are you willing to follow our leaders unconditionally – or are you unlikely to contribute to our tribe and therefore a liability?”
It makes sense that people often respond with such hostility when those beliefs are challenged – in some instinctive part of our minds, it’s not just a belief that is challenged – it’s our survival and sense of belonging.
Исключение
A woman I worked with some years back, told me that when she was a child, her family wasn’t religious and didn’t go to church – so their neighbors avoided and excluded them. This doesn’t make sense if you consider that most religions teach compassion and unselfishness – but it makes perfect sense if you consider tribal instincts. This is why most religions in the past fueled ethnic conflicts – and some extremist factions still use it for the same purpose.
From the perspective of tribal instincts, the feeling is not, “Be kind to everyone”, the meta-message is more like, “Love and help твой сосед – but other tribes are a competition and need to be fought or assimilated.” If there wasn’t for tribal instincts, a meeting of different faiths would look more like “That’s what you believe? Cool! My folks believe that a giant fish came out of the ocean and grew legs and gave birth to first people! Let’s get together and share stories!” instead of “Is что what you believe? DIE!!!”
Реалистично, если бы различные направления христианства действительно следовали Новому Завету, они были бы более либеральными, чем любые либеральные СМИНо поскольку их основная цель - сплочение группы, они обычно сосредоточены на определении и обеспечении соблюдения довольно жестких норм поведения, наказывая при этом тех, кто от этих норм отличается. Племенные инстинкты часто оказываются сильнее разума и сострадания.
Процветание и религия
I also find it significant that in rich countries of Western Europe and Australia (perhaps Canada too, but I’m not so familiar with the situation in Canada yet, in terms of religion), people are much less likely to take religion seriously than anywhere else. In fact, you can observe the Значение религии возрастает по мере снижения уровня жизни from country to country (often even from region to region within a country). It’s not just about better education – it’s more about the feeling that in a rich country, you don’t нужно больше не племя to ensure your survival. If a social security network works well, you might not need your family or neighbors’ help even when you are sick or old. In such circumstances, tribal instincts are not so necessary and it makes sense to question authority and old beliefs.
You might say, “А как же США? Religion is still very important there!” I see several explanations for that.
Во-первых, США не так однородны, как многие страны Европы (даже с учетом роста иммиграции в ЕС в последние несколько десятилетий). В США практически все в той или иной степени являются меньшинством. Здесь так много разнообразия, что срабатывают племенные инстинкты и усиливается потребность принадлежать к группе и подтверждать свою групповую идентичность.
Second, social security system in America is much less supportive of an individual than in EU – especially in case of медицинский problems. There are many more homeless people in USA than Europe – and many more possibilities for an individual to стать бездомным в кратчайшие сроки. Это может заставить людей чувствовать себя в меньшей безопасности и с большей вероятностью искать дополнительную защиту, присоединяясь к уже существующим сообществам.
В-третьих, если европейские племенные территории были более или менее установлены много веков назад (несмотря на множество локальных стычек и обе мировые войны), то американские пограничные войны закончились только в 1890 году или даже позже, согласно Википедии. Америка, как мне кажется, до сих пор является довольно военной культурой, причем военное дело прославляется гораздо больше, чем в ЕС. На побуждать людей идти на войну, со всем война подразумеваетВам нужно сильные убеждения и сильное чувство групповой идентичности – and religion is one of the things that fulfill that purpose.
Некоторые религии стали глобальными и включают в себя гораздо больше членов, чем человек может чувствовать себя близким. Я вижу в этом причину (или, по крайней мере, часть причины) того, что внутри этих религий существует так много фракций (часто враждебных друг другу). Наш мозг просто не может справиться too large a tribe. If a tribe becomes so large that the relationships become too impersonal, can you really count on those people’s help? Best to make it smaller. It’s not a conscious decision, but an instinctive urge.
I’m aware that questioning religious beliefs often makes people feel angry and offended. While trying to be as objective as possible, I have to take that risk. I hope that most readers will understand this as an invitation to think, rather than “whose worldview is better” contest. I also hope that, if more people become aware of how their tribal instincts influence them, it might motivate them to abandon “kill the unbeliever” way to be religious in favor of “love and compassion” way to be religious. All the religions in the world include some great and uplifting ideas, as well as some that are toxic or pointless. Let’s finally put the emphasize at the former.
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