Gazing in the Mirror

January 21 - The Dangers of Dogmatism

Dogmatism is the practice of
pronouncing one's beliefs with rigid,
arrogant certainty. Absolute certainty.
~ Judy Johnson, What's So Wrong With
Being Absolutely Right

Religious Science is shorn of dogmatism,
freed from superstition, and open at
the top for greater illumination, unbound
and free.
~ Ernest Holmes

Many of us have come into contact with people who act as if they are the sole expert on some topic or other. Even in the presence of compelling arguments otherwise, a person predisposed to dogmatic beliefs will not change their mind. If you are in a discussion with such a person you cannot get them to change the topic either. A person trapped in dogmatism will absolutely refuse to see things any other way than from the perspective of their preferred conceptualization. They absolutely will not even consider the possibility that they might be wrong about whatever they are asserting.

Dogmatism has long been primarily associated with religious teachings and indoctrination. Since God (or Jesus, or Buddha, or Allah, or Mohammed) is assumed to have authoritative power, religion is ripe to cause dogmatism in religious people. It is difficult to argue with a non-physical, non-present authoritative figure. And people can also be dogmatic about politics, marriage, family, gender relations and the many cultural attitudes and traditions that they have been programmed to believe throughout their lives. One breaks out of dogmatism by having a mind open to information that conflicts with their programmed beliefs. When one is ready to question the hold that various dogmatic beliefs have on them, they can then begin to find what is true and what can ever only be conjecture for their own self. It is only within the self and arrived at voluntarily that any such progress can ever be made.

Dogma, once it becomes widespread and even institutionalized, is also referred to as ideology. Such beliefs are then "supported" by masses of people that enable ideologies to be adhered to dogmatically. One sees this played out in the Middle East in relationship to extremist practices in Islam. One also sees it as frequently in conservative Christians. I was surprised and shocked to see our local paper carry a column by a woman so dogmatically attached to her views of Christianity that she openly suggests these unprovable possibilities as factual truths. I do know that many of the people living in this region are controlled and guided by similar beliefs of a dogmatic nature.

Certainly dogmatic people are rigid and obnoxious and at times they can even be dangerous (ie the Boston Marathon Bombers and the terrorists who assaulted the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris). Training to accept dogmatic beliefs often begins in childhood. If parents do not allow children to think for themselves, and if they reward adherence to the parental viewpoint and punish any openness to non-familially grounded cultural perspectives, then the individual becomes easy to control and manipulate by other authority figures. The cognitive, emotional and social intelligence is thereby stalled and not allowed to develop. A dogmatic leader will usually back up his words with an enforcement vehicle (ie police force, military, fears related to heaven or hell issues). One of the dangers of dogmatism was seen in Nazis during WWII when horrendous acts were perpetrated for reasons of "simply following the orders of a higher authority". That regime was a form of collective insanity.

Dogmatism hides from transparency and accountability by often acting in hidden ways. Religious self-righteous, moralistic arguments promote intolerance that does not allow differences and encourages prejudice, discrimination, separation, cultural differences and promotes war to address religious supremacy (convert or die). Even in the business realm corporate dogmatism can endanger the public good when profit motives are given supremacy over inner inclinations to do no harm. Peace is not possible in a world that holds tightly to its dogmatic separations and enforces these with aggressive and destructive responses.

When one encounters a seriously dogmatic person, one of the first characteristics they might notice is how such people seem totally blind to the rigidity of their own certainties and one will see them defending that rigidity which makes their presence offensive to more considerately sensitive people whose own tendencies are to be tolerant, accepting and peaceful. A dogmatist has a pervasive anxiety about any situation that threatens their extraordinary need to be "right" about what they believe and publicly profess. They seek to impress others and with their dogma to lean upon feel safer in a world that is confusing and scary to them. It seems that at this point in human development only a few of us are willing or able to stretch our own thinking to push the envelope of possibility that actually allows for humanity to evolve. The leading edge can be expensive in its loneliness and lack companionship – unless one is lucky enough to find a like-minded community that strongly supports the individual in their furthest explorations.

~ perspective

I know that learning how to listen deeply
with a truly open mind protects me from
simply accepting dogmatic beliefs on
a surface level.
I do not need to assert my point of view
as being the only correct viewpoint.
The reality is that our world is run on
the basis of aggressive dogmatism –
in government, religion, education and
parenting styles and it is time to break
the hold that rigid thinking has on humanity
for the common good.
Dogmatism supports crimes against humanity –
systemic racism, poverty, gender discrimination,
war and genocide – encouraging open-mindedness
is our only hope for creating a world that
works for everyone.
Democracy cannot be active if dogmatic
religious zealots use government legislation
and educational policies to impose
their beliefs on others.

#certainty #conjecture #hidden #ideology #insanity #intolerance #politics #programming #religion #rigidity