Contents
The need to believe is part of our nature. It manifests itself in three main areas of life: we need to believe in ourselves, to believe in people, and we also want to be sure that everything in this world is interconnected and there is some important meaning in our life.
The word “faith” has many meanings in our language. It has a common root with trust, loyalty, confidence. But also with beliefs, beliefs and tests… Without these shades of faith, life would be simply impossible.
The need to see the highest meaning in life is indestructible. Despite the efforts of the rationalists, faith has survived and has recently even noticeably strengthened its position. For seven decades, our country has been preaching materialism, remodeling temples into colonies and warehouses, oppressing believers… and what is the result? The basics of religion are again taught in schools, the prestige of scientific knowledge is rapidly falling, shops are bursting with books on esotericism, astrology, and the occult. To Tolstoy’s “What is my faith?” 49% of Russians answer that they believe in hell, 53% – that they believe in heaven; but most of our fellow citizens – 59% – sincerely believe in the evil eye and damage1.
Many of the believers do not have respect for science, but science has begun to treat faith much more loyally. Sociologists, historians, anthropologists emphasize the importance of faith in the development of civilization, noting that the driving force behind development is … faith in progress. Yes, and myths and irrational beliefs rather stimulate science, although they run counter to it. Is it a coincidence that Isaac Newton was interested in alchemy, the great mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler had a reputation as a talented astrologer, and nuclear physics and Eastern philosophy, upon closer examination, reveal much in common?2
Finally, at the heart of any scientific activity lies the act of believing that reality is knowable. Otherwise, what is the point of trying to penetrate the secrets of the universe? Without this, Albert Einstein noted, not a single researcher would continue his work for a minute.3.
Apparently, the need to believe is part of our nature. It manifests itself in three areas of life. In personal relationships, we need to trust other people: without this, social bonds collapse. In relationships with ourselves, we want to believe in ourselves and our own strengths: without this, it is impossible to achieve anything in life. Finally, faith gives us a connection with the absolute, with that transcendent reality that gives meaning to our existence.
Between Scylla and Charybdis
Few things make us more angry than a breach of trust. We condemn politicians who talk about honesty by buying luxury villas and cars. We ridicule journalists who distort facts or manipulate our feelings. We despise pseudoscientists who appropriate other people’s dissertations. And about how we feel about adultery, and say nothing. According to polls, honesty and decency are invariably in the top three qualities that we expect from others, whether we are talking about a life partner or the president of a country.
A society loses its viability when it crosses a critical threshold of mistrust. Imagine a geography teacher who informs his students that the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea, and hears in response: “And how can you prove it?” Imagine that patients no longer trust doctors, and customers are constantly ready to be deceived. Imagine passengers who believe that the train driver is drunk, the pilot of the plane puts his son at the helm, and the captain of the ship violates all the instructions in a row. Constant uncertainty makes life in such a world hell.
We want to take our word for it, but, mindful of the deceptions we have experienced, we are forced to be on our guard.
The words “I believe you” underlie social bonds. It is “I believe”, and not “I know that you are telling the truth.” Of course, the second would be more convenient, but the fact of the matter is that when it comes to another person, knowledge is impossible.
Therefore, we need to believe. For families to exist, for schools to work, doctors to treat, and transactions to be made (by the way, money circulation itself is based on the same faith – how else could we exchange colored pieces of paper for something useful?). In a word, so that we can live together.
But a contradiction arises. We want to take our word for it, but, remembering the deceptions we have experienced, we are forced to be on our guard. Every day we embark on this voyage between Scylla and Charybdis, again and again finding the balance between unconditional faith and total skepticism. Alas, it’s getting harder and harder to believe. After the tragedy in Krymsk, rumors did not subside for a long time that the city was deliberately flooded by opening the floodgates of the reservoir.
And a few hours after the fall of the meteorite, a well-known publicist sarcastically asked about its “tail number”, giving rise to a lot of speculation about testing new weapons and an accident at a missile test site. There is no faith in public and state institutions either: 61% of respondents do not approve of the activities of the Duma, 57% of the work of the CEC chairman, a quarter of the country’s population does not trust any politician4. The balance of faith and distrust has shifted dangerously towards skepticism. And perhaps already close to that very critical threshold.
Believe to grow
But life in society involves not only trust, but also competition. And it is very important not to be unarmed in a series of duels, which are so rich every day. And what could be a better weapon in them than faith in yourself and your strengths? Fans of extreme sports often admit that it is not only skill that helps them to ride a wave or conquer the summit, but first of all, the belief that they are capable of doing it. You can call it auto-training, self-hypnosis, or whatever word you like, but the fact remains: strong faith improves our results. Therefore, methods such as NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and positive thinking “work with faith.” Their goal is to defeat the prejudices we have about ourselves and replace them with beliefs that unlock our potential.
Perhaps it is this kind of faith that is most in demand today. Harsh realities constantly convince us that you can only rely on yourself. So, faith in yourself becomes the main thing. Evidence of this is the huge variety and demand for all kinds of trainings for personal growth and self-development courses, which repeat in every way: the main thing is to believe in yourself.
And this is true not only for the individual. “One person with convictions is stronger than a hundred people with interests alone,” wrote philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill.5. Even earlier, this truth was revealed to the world, for example, by 300 Spartans who fought with thousands of Persian troops. There are entire nations that confirm the power of faith in their own destiny. Is it a phenomenon of the survival of the Jews for three thousand years – in spite of all the persecution! – is not explained, at least in part, by their belief in their God-chosenness?
In search of the absolute
So, we live in a society, and therefore we need to believe in other people. We compete with each other and, therefore, must be armed with faith in ourselves. But there is a third aspect of faith. Both social connections and victory over competitors are important only insofar as we see some meaning in life itself. Does he exist? Or have we ended up in this world for no reason? And what happens after death?
We can only attempt to answer these questions by relying on faith in something that is superior to us. This is where faith in God and moral conviction converge. For some, the absolute is God as a person. For others, it is an immanent entity, cosmic energy. Still others are content with a moral code, the ideals of brotherhood, the sanctity of human rights. In any case, our faith in higher powers and principles comforts us and gives our lives meaning.
The advantage of a faith devoid of fervor is that it does not breed fanatics.
But the spiritual landscape today is shrouded in mist. What are at least the above polling data worth: at the beginning of the XNUMXst century, more than half of Russians continue to believe in the evil eye and damage. And the position of the church, despite the state support for Orthodoxy, is not at all so strong. Today’s religiosity has lost its former earnestness. Everyone claims to choose their beliefs. Consequences: a greater degree of openness to various types of spirituality, an insatiable curiosity for the traditions of the whole world – Buddhism, Taoism, martial arts, yoga.
On the other hand, there is a tendency to prejudices, fantasies, idle fabrications and a change of beliefs at the speed of switching TV channels. This leads to a paradox: we are looking for meaning in the spiritual dimension of life, but we ourselves treat our own beliefs lightly. Religions, moral codes become only points of view, changeable and impermanent.
In a sense, this development is to be welcomed because it reduces the risk of fundamentalism. The advantage of faith devoid of fervor is that it does not breed fanatics. But there is also the other side of the coin. Finding a foothold in such a “cool” faith is much more difficult. The main question – about the meaning of life – more and more often does not have a clear and single answer.
In the image and likeness
At the heart of the need for religious faith lies the innate desire of any of us to go beyond our own capabilities and reliable knowledge. “We need someone who is similar enough to understand him, and omnipotent enough to do what we can’t do,” says psychologist Rada Granovskaya*. — Immanuel Kant likened God to a moral law that embodies in some higher personality all the best qualities of a person himself — and even of all people in general! – but extremely reinforced. In this sense, God can be considered the product of our self-knowledge.
“Instead of looking for our essence in ourselves, we first reject it, placing it somewhere outside,” explains Rada Granovskaya. — And then we take this essence back into our soul — but already exaggeratedly strengthened and improved in the idea of God. The development of a person consists in gradually adopting more and more from God and, becoming like him, improve oneself. And religion itself can be imagined as a way of personal development with the help of an intermediary, which is God.
* R. Granovskaya “Psychology of Faith” (Speech, 2010).
Small business practice
This state of affairs should not be surprising. The leap from autocracy-Orthodoxy-nationality to militant atheism and (almost) back in just 100 years is too dizzying somersault for the national consciousness, and besides, it is not the only one. Receded faith in science and technological progress, which brought humanity to the brink of death. Faith in communism collapsed along with the Berlin Wall. The credibility of international institutions, on which such hopes were placed until recently, is clearly declining. The state also failed to cope with the role of Providence, could not provide medical care and education for everyone.
What is left? It seems that the same faith in yourself and those around you. It’s time for decentralization. The forms of social engagement that most appeal to us are based on face-to-face communication among citizens. And on personal actions, no matter how small their scale. A donation for an operation for a sick child, participation in the search for a missing person, assistance in extinguishing fires or eliminating the consequences of a flood – these are the actions that we today approve and recognize as moral. And there are more and more of those who sincerely believe in the meaning of small deeds. Perhaps this is reassuring.
1 Yearbook “Public Opinion – 2012”, levada.ru
2 See more details in Fridtjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics (Sofia, 2002).
3 A. Einstein “On Religion” (Alpina non-fiction, 2010).
4 According to surveys conducted by the Levada Center in February 2013, levada.ru
5 J. S. Mill, On Civil Liberty (Librocom, 2012).