FANATICISM(from lat. fanum - altar) - unwavering and repulsive
alternatives is an individual's adherence to certain beliefs, which
finds expression in his activities and communication. F. is associated with
willingness to sacrifice; devotion to the idea is combined with intolerance to
dissidents, disregard for ethical standards that prevent
achieving a common goal. F. is a phenomenon of group psychology. For
fanatics who find support in mutual recognition is characterized by
increased emotionality, uncritical attitude to any information,
confirming their views, rejection of criticism, even benevolent. F.
often has an ideological (including religious) overtones.

Everything is clear with the term, I hope ... I just want to tell a little about the phenomenon as such. I will not go into science, but just try to put it on the shelves. Let me start by reiterating one of my favorite quotes:

“It is generally accepted that the one who is smarter usually wins in an equal dispute. Bullshit! stupid - no, at least split ... And if, in addition, remember that fools are also lucky, then who, one wonders, of the two of them should emerge victorious? (C) Evgeny Lukin.

A fanatic in a dispute is much worse than a fool. For the simple reason that he not only does not accept everything that does not correspond to his convictions, but perceives it as an attack on him personally. True, unfortunately, there are no single fans. Fanaticism is a crowd blindly following the leader. The leader, by the way, most often does not believe in what he says to the crowd of fans. No, there are some, of course, but such a crowd is very quickly destroyed by others, because no society accepts white crows ... More often, a leader is a pragmatist who knows how to analyze the situation and direct fanatics in the right way for myself direction (which, incidentally, has been used by many churches for centuries).
A question for reflection: why do states and churches within themselves normally treat different confessions, but do not accept sects?
The answer is simple: most sects are organized on the basis of fanaticism, and the state and the church reserve this prerogative for themselves.
Creating a crowd of fans is absolutely easy (I won’t give recipes, really, so take my word for it), it’s not much more difficult to manage this crowd at first. Then, most often, there is a change of leader to a pragmatist and a crowd of fans arranges "spectacles" for the amusement of everyone except the participants.
And the worst thing about fanaticism is that it is more contagious than mental illness ... Yes, yes - mental illness is contagious. Only this requires a lot of time and appropriate conditions. I can even give well-known examples: when one person yawns in a company, almost everyone will yawn within a minute, many will yawn more than once ... The second example is an example of crowd induction: a goal at the stadium is yelled at by everyone. Even if a person is not quite a fan, he is "infected" by the general mood. At first, he may not express violent feelings, but each time it becomes more and more difficult for him to restrain himself. And if the leader directs the crowd with exact phrases, then fans appear. Ready for anything.
Fanatics are dangerous primarily because dialogue with them is useless. If a fan has received an installation for any action, then it can be stopped only by physical methods, and only with a significantly superior force. And worst of all, when fanatics gather in one monolithic crowd - then thoughtless rage and readiness to crush everything in its path spills out.
In general, this phenomenon is an atavism and one of the proofs that man is a beast, moreover, the beast is the most dangerous of the existing ones. In animals, too, this is observed - these are protective mechanisms for the survival of the species. But a person does not live in animal rhythms, he obeys the laws of the group, which he considers dominant for himself. That is why many sectarians abandon their families - the influence of the family as a group weakens on them and they pass into submission to a stronger leader. Which, by the way, does not always obey its own laws - for him they are just a way to control a crowd of fans.
I’ll even give you a little hint on how to manage the crowd: the main thing is to make all the time and at the same time(according to the schedule) perform some, preferably - stupid (under the "smart" sauce) actions.

Passion for any activity that reaches an extreme degree of expression with the formation of a cult and the creation of idols with the complete subordination of a person and the "dissolution" of individuality is called bigotry. More often fanatical attitudes are formed in such areas, like a religion(religious fanaticism) sport(sports fanaticism) and music(musical fanaticism). The general characteristic of fanaticism includes the development by a person of a stereotype of subordinating one's own interests and aspirations to the interests of the confession, the team, the musical group, focusing attention and strength on supporting the idol and providing all-round and active assistance, missionary activity. Within the framework of deviant behavior in the form of fanaticism, a person begins to act according to the psychological laws of the group and the driven person, he is not able to critically treat the statements of the idol, idol and realize deviations in his own behavior, which may consist in separating or leaving the family, ignoring work, etc.

A special place in connection with the significance of the consequences is occupied by religious fanaticism. The destruction of families, the rupture of family and friendship ties, the sharp and radical change in the stereotype of human life put this problem in one of the first places in importance. A characteristic feature of religious faith is the recognition of the existence of the supernatural, which is understood as something that does not obey the laws of the surrounding world, lying "on the other side" of sensually perceived objects. A special role is played by the phenomenon of "chosenness", which forms, on the one hand, a sense of identification with a group of like-minded people, "initiated into the mystery"; on the other hand, it strengthens the feeling of superiority over other (uninitiated) people.

Sectarianism is considered the most fertile ground for the emergence of deviant behavior. Followers of Christianity believe that a sect is “an organized society of people who disagree with ... the church, who disagree with each other religiously” (B.A. Lyubovik). There is no unambiguous interpretation of the concept of "sect", since interfaith confrontation is of a fundamental nature. According to representatives of "big" (old, prone to monopolization of faith) religions, hallmark of a sect lies in the fact that in its views it differs from the dominant one, it is not an official and widespread religion in a particular country. Such a view cannot be justified. We can agree that totalitarian religious sects use harsh psychological methods of influence in their practice, which is expressed in the formation of a state of increased suggestibility in a person due to physical and mental exhaustion, social deprivation, the use of trance states, etc. In non-traditional religions, as a rule, an important role is played by the emotional and psychological side, pushing the dogma into the background. This is expressed in the proclamation of the priority of religious experience. Spontaneous manifestations of religious feelings, especially states of trance, ecstasy, are interpreted as "enlightenment", familiarization with the divine reality, to which adherents of the religious group aspire (A.Yu. Egortsev). characteristic features of the influence of totalitarian sects on the personality are considered (A.Yu. Egortsev): the establishment of strict control over the will, consciousness and feelings of members of the sect; formation of psychological dependence on the leader and organization.

According to V.V. Pavlyuk, a religious sect instills in its members an "avoidance reaction", as a result of which the believer involuntarily, as if automatically, avoids those actions that are not approved by the group. Instilled in the course of communication and education in a religious group, such an emotional reaction blocks the possibility of deviating from the norms accepted in the group.

Within the framework of a religious sect, the formation of religious fanaticism is greatly facilitated, since the leader and the community itself, with the help of long-term and intense psychological influences, form a readiness to have no doubts about the correctness or incorrectness of behavior, remove responsibility for it and, as a result, volitional control of their own activities. The person begins to act in accordance with the behavioral pattern imposed by the group.

R.J. Lifton identifies eight elements that lead to a catastrophic change in the consciousness of a person in a religious group:

Control of the environment - a rigid structuring of the environment in which communication is regulated, and access to information is strictly controlled;

Mystical manipulation - the use of a planned or arranged situation to give it a meaning that is beneficial to manipulators;

The requirement of purity is a clear division of the world into “clean” and “impure”, “good” and “bad”;

The cult of confession - the demand for continuous intimate confessions to destroy the "boundaries of the personality" and maintain a sense of guilt;

- "holy science" - the declaration of one's dogma as absolute truth;

Cult language - the creation of a special clichéd vocabulary of intra-group communication in order to eliminate the very basis for independent and critical thinking;

Doctrine is higher than personality - doctrine is more real and true than personality and its individual experience;

The division of existence - members of the group have the right to life and existence, the rest - no, that is, "the end justifies any means."

According to E.N. Volkov, a person in a cult experiences and lives not his individual, but a group “experience”, hence the strong dependence on group processes. Responsibility for decision-making is transferred from the individual to the group, so the most ridiculous and strange decisions are taken and carried out by ordinary members for granted. In the process of introducing a person to the group norms of a totalitarian sect, the phenomenon of “doubling” the personality (R. Lifton) is formed, the essence of which is the division of the “I” of the individual into two independently functioning systems. At the same time, people do not experience feelings of emotional discomfort or instability. They are not inclined to a critical understanding of their own situation and are able to perform any actions with a weakened volitional control.

R. Lifton's research led to the understanding of the fact that almost every person in conditions of massive group pressure and manipulation of basic human needs is capable of forming deviant behavior in the form of religious fanaticism. Predisposing factors for this may be low communicative tolerance, family traditions of magical and mystical thinking, some characterological and personal characteristics.

Under the influence of the psychological influences of a totalitarian sect, in a person with a formed deviant behavior, first of all, there is a change in all four formal signs of consciousness (according to K. Jaspers). He is disturbed: a sense of activity - awareness of oneself as an active being; awareness of one's own unity: at every given moment I am aware that I am one; awareness of one's own identity: I remain who I have always been; the realization that "I" is different from the rest of the world, from everything that is not "I".

The variety of mental phenomena that arise as a result of a person being under cult control and radically changing his behavior towards anomalies and deviations can be grouped into the following blocks.

1. Block for changing consciousness and self-awareness(violation of self-awareness and identity).

2. Block of affective phenomena-disorders: depression, panic attacks, intrusive memories and dreams, etc.

3. Block of inversion of the motor-volitional sphere(decreased volitional activity (apathy), ability to control one's activities, loss of spontaneity and naturalness).

4. Pathological addiction block(the formation of psychological dependence on a religious group, the loss of the ability to be responsible for anything and autonomous in decision-making).

5. Personality Regression Block(stop intellectual, cognitive, emotional, moral development, accompanied by the development of mental infantilism).

6. Block of perceptual phenomena(illusions, hallucinations, violations of the body scheme, perception of time).

7. Block of mental anomalies(use of the so-called affective logic, loss of criticality, tendency to form overvalued and delusional ideas).

8. Block of communicative deviations(isolation, aloofness, autism, inability to establish trusting relationships, loss of empathy and social communication skills).

The motives for detaching a person from reality and leaving for a group (religious, sports or music fans), subordinating oneself to an idea and a leader can be different. One of the motives may be psychological problems with which the individual is not able to cope on his own, or believes that he is not capable. His departure to a group of fanatics is due to the removal of responsibility for making decisions on many life problems, the desire to become a follower, to eradicate doubts and insecurities in himself. Another motive for fanatical behavior in a group may be the desire to get away from the monotonous reality that does not cause joy and emotional response. An idol, an idol, an idea, a ritual, involvement in some secret or social group, the acquisition of new experiences become a kind of addicts.



An interesting article about fanaticism in all its manifestations with humor and interesting conclusions from a series of entertaining psychology.
Particular attention is paid to "shopaholics", there is information about the "increased love" for tediousness, sports, computers!

How often did it annoy you when a neighbor who has a not very excellent voice around the clock, in the literal sense of the word, kneads his vocal cords? I can guess the answer. Of course. And this is not because you are a choleric, but simply because you are a living person. And your wonderful neighbor, just a fanatic.
What is fanaticism and how to deal with it?

Any kind of fanaticism is a psychological dependence on something. But still, without losing common sense. Moreover, fanaticism usually does not bring significant damage to others. After all, a person usually “fans” on the basis of his own conclusions and priorities.
In general, hobbies for something can be divided into certain stages:

• Sympathy stage. It is pleasant for a person to do what he likes;
• Amateur stage or so-called hobby. Occupation occupies an essential part of life;
• Totally fanatical. Does not reach the stage of fanaticism, because it usually stops after reaching the goal;
• The stage of rooted fanaticism (goes beyond the norm).
• A separate stage is age-related fanaticism, when excessive passion disappears with age.

Now let's try to consider fanatics by certain types. Maybe in some of them you recognize yourself, your loved one or your friend.

ANALYTICAL TYPE OF FANATICS (hereinafter referred to as ATP)

Special signs:

Girls: no make-up, uninteresting ponytail (they probably don't know about the hair straightener); grandmother's cardigan, at best bought on sale; the combination of sneakers with a classic blouson is not excluded.
Men: unsportsmanlike physique; a shirt tucked into pants, jeans, shorts, whatever the occasion.
And in both cases: a bunch of books and various pieces of paper and no glossy magazines.
And all this is not because analytical fanatics have a complete lack of taste, but because “shopping” is a waste of time, and the Nobel Prize is “just around the corner”.
But on a robot, ATPs are indispensable, because the robot is always done on time and too fanatically of high quality (John Nash, A Beautiful Mind).

Good news:

• If your friend is an analytical fanatic, you're in luck. After all, you will definitely be sure how likely it is to get into some kind of awkward situation. For example, how likely is it that your boyfriend, after work, will go to the very boutique where you smile so sweetly, buying a new bolero, skirt, top, and a couple more blouses. After all, who is to blame that your loved one forgot his credit card on the coffee table;
• If you wonder how long until the summer solstice on Jupiter, what is dispersion and how many people die every year from icterohemorrhatic leptospirosis, do not be afraid, you can call even at three in the morning - you will get an accurate answer. You won’t hear complaints for your impudence, because a person is so pleased that you asked him specifically, and didn’t simply look on the Internet.

Bad news:

• Think before you ask ATF a question. Then you will beg for silence for a very long time;
• You will not be able to cry at the waist of an analytical fanatic, because you will immediately receive a plan for getting out of the scheduling situation every second. And sometimes you just want to be listened to and regretted.

TREATMENT- not treated. Try to just take your friend up on the roof of the house to eat ice cream more often. After all, there are so many charms around except for books and routine work.

Special signs:

And men and women look the same- Hair is washed less and less, terrible bruises appear under the eyes, not to mention the change of wardrobe. Girls usually also have a complete lack of manicure (what can we say about pedicure). But before being sucked into a computer network, they all looked very personal.

Plus, pay attention to whether the people you suspect in SF complain about constant insomnia, increased monthly electricity bills and constant problems at the robot.
Feature of network addiction also in the fact that both a teenager and a rather adult person can “get sick” with it. Pay attention, if you disappear in contacts, "classmates" or online games for more than 6 hours a day, maybe you become an SF.

Good news- none.

Bad news:

• In addition to the fact that you may become embarrassed if you still manage to get a friend out for a walk, there is also a threat to the friend’s health, both physical and psychological.

TREATMENT- is being treated.

Step 1- Ask a friend to spend the night, justifying everything with repairs in the apartment.
Step 2- Put to sleep (many methods). If you do not want financial responsibility, do not even think about throwing your computer out of the window, there will be a lot of traces of your crime.

Step 3- Pamper your favorite PC with a couple of dozen viruses (if it's not “Apple”).
If it doesn't help, you can pour a glass of alcohol on the keyboard. If necessary, cut the wires.
The procedure should be repeated 1 time in 2 months, as needed. The fact that a friend will be busy repairing a computer is guaranteed.

Shopaholics

About it type of fanatics You've probably heard a lot already and you won't learn anything new. But if you go to the store for cereal and milk, and return with 19 pairs of wedge sandals, then no, alas, you are not a collector, you are a fanatic. Think about it. And do not forget, within 14 days the item can be returned, if you have a receipt and a passport. And on the way home to buy 20 pair of jeans.

Good news:

• If your friend is a shopaholic, there will always be someone to take her purse on an important date.
• You will always be aware of where and what is sold, not to mention sales.

Bad news:

• In the apartment of shopaholics there is always little space and a lot of unnecessary little things. They live by the principle - "everything in the house";
• A soldering iron not bought by a shopaholic in a hardware store leads to depression. After all, how can you do without such a necessary thing at home;
• Shopaholics "do not live up" to the second salary;
• There are no conversations and activities, except for shopping trips (even during working hours).

TREATMENT- treated partially.

Teach a friend to save. Offer to collect unnecessary things, and those that are no longer worn in a separate box and take them to some kind of orphanage. If your friend loves kids, it might work.
Go together to theaters, museums, exhibitions of tanks, cars, cats, etc. more often, but not shopping. Over time, there will be a sense of proportion.

SPORTS FANATISM

Do you remember how many schoolchildren wore T-shirts with the numbers of famous football players, collected posters, stickers and did not miss a single football match? Sports fanaticism disappears with age, but not always. And at a more adult age, it can remain and progress.
But if your friend does not recognize any brands other than ADIDAS, NIKE and PUMA; watching the UEFA final, as if in anticipation of ecstasy; goes to the gym 4 times a week and goes to the Olympic Games every 4 years, this is not fanaticism, this is a healthy passion for sports.

Good news:

• Think about it, maybe you will be pleased to go to some game for general development;
• Sport is always good, health is guaranteed.

Bad news:

• You will be “forced” to include sports brands in your list of favorite stores;
• Pumped guys are interesting only up to a certain point, then - no mind and ingenuity, only a bunch of muscles;
• Sports fans don't always do it themselves.

TREATMENT may not need to be treated.

To find out if your favorite is a sports fanatic, you can say: "Me or football." If you hear a statement like “Stupid, of course you are,” you can safely allow your beloved football weaknesses.

Concerning star fanaticism, it can be divided into two categories:
- those who have high self-esteem (such as "there is no star for me a star");
- and those who always and in everything imitate the stars.

Egocentrism is not cured, and interest in the idol disappears when he makes some kind of mistake.

Manic fanaticism- this is already a psychological disease that must be distinguished from fanaticism and limited in freedom. (Preferably a life sentence.)

The question remains whether it is possible to call men fanatics towards the fair sex? After all, it is natural. Although the pain of betrayal, a truly loved one remains an open wound for life.

Increased interest and physical addiction girls to men it's already nymphomania. It's a shame.

And this is not the whole list. If you think about it, every second person is a fanatic deep in his soul. But if your boyfriend or husband constantly cooks, washes dishes, vacuums, throws and hangs things out of the washing machine (including yours, and even as it should); concedes the UEFA Cup final in favor of FASHION TV, which means ... no, not necessarily housekeeping fanatic.

Maybe he just really loves you? Although the first option is also not excluded.
Everyone has their own "cockroaches in the head" and life conclusions.

How many people, so many opinions. Maybe there is no need to treat fanaticism? To each his own.

Each of us must have experienced manifestations of religious fanaticism in life. At least he certainly knows about him well from the news or history. We will talk about whether such fanaticism exists in Orthodoxy. How does it manifest itself and what does it lead to?

What is religious fanaticism?

The very word ( fanum translated from Latin means "temple") indicates the pagan, cult origin of this concept. "Fanatic" translates as "frantic" - it means that a person who “does not know what he is doing”, does not realize himself, is sick.

What is the difference between fanaticism on religious grounds? First, excessive adherence to any one idea, often distorted. Secondly, the lack of self-criticism, unwillingness to look at oneself from the outside, self-confidence. And thirdly, the rejection of other views, up to severe aggression.

Religious fanaticism, as a form of intolerance towards others, denies the very religion to which it supposedly belongs. It is a great destructive force, a pathology. Orthodoxy, for example, clearly teaches that we should hate sin but love the sinner. The fanatic, on the other hand, distorts everything and, driven by jealousy not according to reason, transfers everything to a specific person. Here it would be appropriate to recall the words of Theophan the Recluse:

Our God is the God of peace, and all God's peace brings. And zeal for the truth, when it is from God, is peaceful, meek, compassionate towards all, even towards those who violate the truth. Therefore, you will understand that the zealous ferocity that kindled you is not from God.

It is worth, however, to make a reservation that non-church people under this concept mean something completely different. They consider as believing fanatics everyone who goes to church more often than at Easter and Epiphany. This, of course, should not be ignored.

In what way does it manifest itself?

Religious intolerance manifests itself, first of all, in the fact that a person obsessed with it, being sure only that he is right, is not able to hear others. As a rule, he pours out his aggression on specific “mistaken” people. In true Orthodoxy, we know, this is not the case. Although we are convinced that our faith is the only true one, but most of all the Lord teaches us to respect the freedom of others.

That is why, most often, conflicts on religious grounds are kindled by various sects, each of which defends its rightness at any cost. Islamic extremism is similarly "spiritually" nourished by various Islamic sects. In the history of our Church there have also been such mysterious associations of religious fanatics as, for example, whips And eunuchs who came up with their new dogma, absolutely alien to Orthodoxy.

The most large-scale and tragic manifestation of such religious fanaticism was Old Believers . They seized on the letter, the dogma of the creed and forgot about the spirit. Now we call such adherents of one rite ritualists. At the same time, people even burned themselves alive, not wanting to deviate from the old patristic form of confession of their faith. How many human sacrifices it cost, we know.

Mass killings and suicides are, of course, extreme manifestations of pseudo-spiritual fanaticism. In our daily life, we most often encounter other manifestations of it. For example, when someone frantically begins to impose his faith or rushes to “save” someone, when the “perishing” himself does not ask for it. All this is also an abnormal form of manifestation of one's religiosity.

Jealousy is not intelligible

In Orthodoxy, another name is used to designate religious fanaticism: "jealousy without reason." The expression is taken from the Epistle to the Romans of the holy apostle Paul: They have a zeal for God, but not for reason (Rom. 10:2). Already from these words it is clear that true Christianity calls for a sober, judicious attitude towards everything. It is not the religion of exalted dreamers.

This applies to all spheres of a person's church life, starting with the determination of the measure of fasting and prayer rules and ending with the choice of a life path. Therefore, cases when people “grind” or exhaust themselves with hunger until they get to the appropriate medical institutions are not the norm for Orthodoxy. At least the Church certainly does not teach this.

Causes of the disease

Of course, religious intolerance, like any intolerance towards neighbors, is a sin, and quite a serious one at that. It completely contradicts one of the two most important commandments of the gospel sermon: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). Like any sin, fanaticism in Orthodoxy has its source (or basis) in other sinful inclinations:

• pride;
• vanity, narcissism;
• exaltation over others;
• conceit (or self-delusion);
• lack of self-criticism;
• thoughtlessness;
• self-confidence and others.

Also, various mental deviations can be the cause of this kind of extreme manifestations of intolerance towards other people's views. It has been established, for example, that people of a certain psychotype are most susceptible to religious fanaticism. As a rule, these people are unbalanced, exalted, prone to great emotional experiences, with a flat and limited outlook.

It has also been noted that people who lived in misunderstanding in childhood, with constant fears about this, are often prone to conflicts on religious grounds. In adulthood, such people, having found a group of like-minded people, try to hide behind it, like behind a stone wall. However, the feeling of fear already embedded in the subconscious continues to torment them, forcing them to fight with all dissidents “to the last drop of blood”, trying to protect their allegedly found “peace”.

Is there a cure for fanaticism?

Of course, through the Sacraments that exist in the Church, any human sin can be healed. The only condition is repentance. But the peculiarity of religious fanaticism is precisely that a person does not perceive his jealousy out of reason as something wrong, distorted. He is sure that "the ultimate truth" belongs to him alone, and he does not agree with other opinions.

This is the main difficulty in correcting a religious fanatic. Until he thinks about himself, does not begin to look at himself self-critically (or something happens that makes him look at himself differently), any of your arguments will be useless. You still can't convince him. Therefore, it is best to try to somehow influence a person when the first signs of an emerging disease appear.

In the case when the cause of such an obsession is a serious mental disorder of a person, medical intervention may also be necessary. Especially if such a fanatic carries a great danger to society.

What could be the consequences?

The consequences of religious intolerance can be dire. Fanaticism in Orthodoxy by itself cannot pass without a trace, without harming anyone. First, it causes irreparable damage to the soul of a person prone to fanaticism. In its extreme manifestation, this disease can turn into delusion. This is such a spiritual state in which a believer, caught in demonic deceit, is in self-deception, considers himself to have achieved some kind of holiness. It is almost impossible to return a deceived person to the right spiritual path.

Secondly, such fanatics are initially set to “correct” those around them, therefore, human casualties are a frequent result of conflicts on religious grounds. A vivid example of this is not only modern Islamic extremism, but also the well-known Crusades.

Thirdly, religious fanaticism, no doubt, has a detrimental effect on the "image" of the religion itself, under the guise of which it is hidden. It is clear that atheists will judge this or that faith not by what is good in it, but precisely by such incorrect, distorted radical manifestations of it.

All this suggests that we ourselves need to be very careful not to become infected and not fall into such a detrimental disease. And also try to protect your neighbors from him.

Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov tells more about this problem:

Take it, tell your friends!

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