Religious fanaticism is the most extreme, aggressive form of zeal in matters of religion and belief. He is characterized by an unshakable view of a certain teaching and intolerance towards other people's views. History knows many examples of how fanaticism had a detrimental effect on certain groups of people and on entire nations, forcing them to go with fire and sword on dissidents.
Signs of religious fanaticism
Intolerance of other religions is considered the main sign of obsessive adherence to an idea. Undisguised hatred and contempt for iniquity gives rise to aggression, which sometimes manifests itself in the most disgusting forms. By itself, a fanatic does not pose a great threat to society, but the association of such people into groups may sooner or later result in open clashes between representatives of different confessions. Mass fanaticism is also dangerous because not only the fanatics themselves, but less religious and non-religious groups of citizens will suffer from such actions.
Declassified archives on the shooting of the royal family have revealed the deep roots of Jewish orthodox fanaticism. The ritual murder was committed on the eve of "9 ava" - the capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's temple.
Another sign of religious fanaticism is orthodox religious fundamentalism, which does not accept anything new. The fanatic perceives his idea as an absolute truth, not subject to criticism in any of its manifestations. Even if the criticism is fair and justified, an ardent follower of a religious idea is not able to react constructively to objections. Often, a fan considers her a personal insult and is able to bring an argument to a fight, in which he quickly enters a state of passion. At the same time, realizing that he can be defeated, he perceives what is happening as his struggle with evil, and is ready to either kill his opponent or accept a “martyr’s” death.
Fanatics love to be the first to hang labels, loudly pronouncing: "heretic", "sectarian", "pagan", etc. Putting a person in an uncomfortable position, the main task of such a rabid individual is to make the opponent back down and get confused. In this case, the main goal is to win in a verbal or hand-to-hand combat, and not ideological questions from the series "whose god is more correct."
Examples of religious fanaticism in history
Religious struggle in the ancient world was present on the territory of many modern countries. The most famous religious persecutions are considered the extermination of the followers of the religious reform of Akhenaten in Ancient Egypt, the persecution of Christians during the heyday of the Roman Empire.
But perhaps the most famous victim of dissent was Jesus Christ and nearly all of his apostles. For their ideas and "heretical" sermons among the Jewish population, each of them suffered a terrible martyrdom.
Massive religious fanaticism in medieval Europe resulted in crusades destroying foreign cultures and "witch hunts." Whole generations of such fanatics saw paganism and dissent as a threat to their spiritual world and tried to physically exterminate all who did not fall under their definition of a true believer.
Giordano Bruno, Jeanne d'Arc, Jan Hus and many others died at the hands of fanatics. Those scientists, thinkers, philosophers who could not be burned at the stake were forced to abandon their ideas by force: Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus.
St. Bartholomew's Night is a terrible massacre of the Huguenots (French Protestants), provoked by the ardent Catholic Catherine de Medici in August 1572. On that day, according to some reports, more than 30,000 people died, all of them branded with the word "heretic".
The reverse side of the medal was anti-religious fanaticism during the formation of Soviet power. He expressed himself in the fight against prejudice, persecution of the church, religion and militant atheism. In fact, the same "witch hunt", just the opposite.
Religious fanaticism in the modern world
In the modern world, religious fanaticism is most often associated with the Islamic world - terrorism, jihad, Sharia courts, etc. In particular, the tragedy of September 11, 2001 in the United States, the massacres of Christians by Muslims in Indonesia in 2000, modern religious clashes in India, as well as individual terrorist attacks around the world are cited as examples. However, very often, under the guise of religious fanaticism, certain political and financial forces are actually operating, the goals of which are very far from Islam in particular and faith in general.
