"The Prison of Dogmatic Belief"
by Sofo Archon
"Nearly ten years ago, I published an article that resonated with many readers. Rereading it recently, I was struck by how much I still stand by what I wrote and how relevant its ideas remain today. That made me want to share it again here, especially now that this newsletter has grown considerably in readership. (Note: I’ve made a few edits to improve the flow and clarity while keeping the original spirit intact.) May you learn from it and enjoy the read.
When I was a teenager, I had a religion teacher who was a devout Orthodox Christian. She often quoted passages from the New Testament about love and kindness and spoke of humanity’s urgent need to unite, emphasizing that our alienation from one another lies at the root of the troubling times we live in.
When she taught Christianity, she was overflowing with joy. Her job, however, was not only to teach Christianity but also to cover other major religions, including Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism - subjects she did not seem to enjoy. Whenever she taught traditions other than Christianity, she was dismissive of them. In her view, Christianity was the ideologically superior faith, and she discouraged my classmates and me from taking other religions seriously, warning us that they were not to be trusted. In fact, she even claimed that they were evil and resorted to fear-mongering tactics to keep us away from them. For instance, she would say that those who did not abide by Orthodox Christian dogma would be condemned to eternal hell. Yet despite her efforts, I could not be persuaded at all, unlike some of my classmates.
As a child, I had a curious and inquiring spirit. The problem was that I also often voiced my thoughts, even when they contradicted authority. I remember one day sharing with my teacher what I thought were solid arguments against organized Christianity. Instead of responding with counterarguments, she simply told me that I was not mature enough to understand the essence of Christianity. Of course, I didn’t see this as a legitimate answer, so I continued pressing my case. To my surprise, her face turned red, she began yelling, and she eventually expelled me from class because, as she later explained, she felt offended by my “anti-Christian” attitude.
That day, I wondered: Is this the same person who had previously taught us about the power of love and unity? How could she preach such lofty ideals while acting in exactly the opposite way? I was utterly perplexed, and it wasn’t until years later that I realized this kind of contradiction was far more common than I had once imagined.
Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about people from a wide range of religious traditions. One striking pattern I have noticed is that those who most fervently adhere to religious dogma often behave paradoxically. On the one hand, they preach love, compassion, and unity - the core teachings of nearly every religion. On the other hand, they frequently act in ways that are hateful, competitive, and inhumane, especially toward those who do not share their beliefs. In other words, they are often the least likely to practice what they preach.
So what could explain this strange psychological phenomenon? To my understanding, it is an inevitable outcome of becoming attached to any ideology, religious or otherwise. When you accept a particular ideology as the absolute truth and become so devoted to it that you follow it unquestioningly, your capacity to think reasonably and act responsibly diminishes. In that fanatical, blinded state of mind, you identify so strongly with a belief system that any opposition feels like a personal threat. You come to believe that when your ideology is attacked, you yourself are under attack. As a psychological defense mechanism, you then become willing to do almost anything to protect your ideology and, by extension, yourself.
When existential fear is coupled with irrationality, the result can be nothing but destructive. Consider, for example, the suicide attacks carried out by Jihadists, who blow themselves up, killing and injuring so many people in the name of God. Reflect, too, on the historical practice of Sati in India, where Hindu widows were forced to immolate themselves on their husbands’ funeral pyres, believing that this would prove their devotion and virtue to God and society. Or think of the witch hunts of early modern Europe, when tens of thousands of women were tortured, burned, or hanged by self-proclaimed Christians who believed them to be servants of the Devil. In all these cases, fanatical religious believers sincerely thought that through such violent actions they were serving God and humanity.
When it comes to my religion teacher, her behavior was obviously not nearly as cruel, but it was essentially of the same nature. Her firm belief that her religious ideology represented the absolute truth prevented her from engaging in any constructive dialogue about Christianity. To protect her beliefs from criticism, she discouraged students from raising arguments - and when they did, she attempted to silence them, either by claiming they had no understanding of the subject or, in some cases, by expelling them from class. Regardless of how harshly she behaved, in her mind she was acting in the best interest of her students, convinced that she was motivated by love. Trapped in her dogmatic worldview, she could neither recognize the extent of her cognitive dissonance nor the consequences of her actions.
These examples show that it is unwise to evaluate a person’s morals solely by their words, beliefs, or ideals. Instead, we need to focus primarily on their actions and draw our conclusions about their morals from them. No matter how eloquently someone speaks of God, love, or compassion, it is ultimately their behavior that matters. I once read a quote that struck a chord with me: “Oftentimes, the nicest people you meet are covered in tattoos, and oftentimes the most judgmental people you meet go to church on Sundays.” How true that statement is! Often, those whom society labels “bad” have the warmest hearts, while those who seem to embody the cultural ideal of a “good” person are the most egotistical and judgmental.
People tend to quickly judge others based on their own prejudices. “They are non-believers - therefore, they must be immoral individuals,” I’ve heard theists say about atheists. I’ve also heard atheists speak similarly about theists: “They believe in God - therefore, they must be ignorant morons.” To me, it doesn’t matter whether you call yourself an atheist, Christian, Muslim, capitalist, communist, libertarian, conservative, or anything else - what matters is how your ideology shapes your thinking and, in turn, your behavior. Does it improve the quality of your life and the well-being of the world? If so, that’s fine. If not, you’d better reconsider it.
The problem is that the more attached someone is to an ideology, the harder it is for them to recognize the consequences of their beliefs. Personally, I have chosen not to identify with any particular religious, philosophical, political, or other ideology. This choice does not stem from a lack of interest in knowledge - on the contrary, it arises from my desire to develop a multidimensional understanding of reality.
Reality is multifaceted, and attachment to a specific set of beliefs narrows our attention to only a small fragment of it, causing us to overlook the bigger picture. The more open we are to diverse opinions and perspectives, the more we can grow intellectually and deepen our understanding. So why would I want to confine my mind to any single ideology? Of course, by being “open,” I don’t mean blindly accepting what others present as truth. I mean being willing to consider ideas different from mine while applying critical thinking to reach my own conclusions.
Although I enjoy studying and learning from all kinds of traditions and schools of thought, I don’t accept anything on faith alone. Instead, I make sure to apply my reasoning, retaining only the ideas that resonate with me and genuinely help me lead a better life, while discarding those that don’t. For instance, I have discovered pearls of wisdom in all the major religious scriptures, but I have also encountered disturbing, dangerous, and nonsensical teachings that I would never embrace or practice merely because certain religious groups consider them holy.
In addition, aware that actions speak louder than words, I don’t try to impose my opinions on others. Instead, I focus on leading by example, knowing that this is the best way I can positively influence those around me. I make a conscious effort to act thoughtfully and take responsibility for the consequences of my actions. I am also careful not to passively obey external authority, and whenever others attempt to mold my life according to their expectations, I resist them to preserve my freedom.
Sometimes I imagine a world where people don’t judge each other based on their superficial differences, but instead celebrate everyone’s uniqueness. A world where people don’t fight to prove themselves right and others wrong, but instead peacefully exchange ideas to learn and grow in wisdom. A world where people are willing to question their own beliefs and seek new answers, instead of remaining trapped in ideological prisons. Imagine such a world. Wouldn’t it be far more beautiful?"
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