Why Hitler was as powerful as a Religion

One topic that caught my attention in the article "Why do we Believe" by Robin Marantz Henig was the difference between secular and religious rituals. Marantz argues, citing to Stosis, that religious rituals are more powerful than secular rituals because they hinge on belief rather than proof. "The [religious] rituals are 'beyond the possibility of examination,' ... and a commitment to them is therefore emotional rather than logical -- a commitment that is, in Stosis's view, deeper and longer lasting." The argument explains, from and evolution standpoint, why vehicles that organize humans into communities developed as religious rituals and not secular rituals. I find this to be directly related to the concept of legitimacy of power, a topic covered in my Intro to Political Science class last term.

The idea of legitimacy suggests that any person in an authoritative role must have some trait, quality, or experience that people recognize and accept to be a reason to keep that person in power. The theory of the rationalization of authority is developed by Samuel Huntington in his book Political Order in Changing Societies. Huntington suggests that qualities from which rulers derive their legitimacy separate them into two groups, charismatic leaders and rational-legal leaders. A rational-legal leader is accepted by a constituency because he or she has proven themselves to be a good ruler. They have been successful in authoritative roles, and people accept them based on a logical evaluation of their abilities. A charismatic leader is accepted based on how people feel about the person. This distinction grants a charismatic leader an enormous amount of power compared to a rational-legal leader, because people are willing to act on their emotions as opposed to always making logical decisions.

The best example of the enormous power of a charismatic leader is Adolph Hitler. The German people elected Hitler based on the way he made them feel. His plans and promises were not backed up by any sort of experience or success he had previously had. It was Hitler’s ability to manipulate people’s emotions that lead to the horrors of World War II and the holocaust. People would not have religiously carried out Hitler’s evil as they did had they been thinking logically instead of emotionally.
I will conclude by suggesting that if one is to accept the existence of religion based on the arguments of Henig and Stosis in my first paragraph, it follows that religious rituals have triumphed ever secular ones for the same reason Hitler or other charismatic leaders have been able to control human beings. They both cater to human nature by deriving their power from emotions.

The Catholic Church and Group Selection

This idea is way out there, and I just want to see it will go anywhere. The Catholic Church operates similarly to group selection.

The idea of group selection highlighted in “Why do we Believe” suggests that over time traits that are beneficial to the survival of a group will many times be an evolutionarily stable strategy (Dawkins) even if it involves self-sacrifice. This is an argument explaining the development of religion as “hardware” in humans. The act of building a temple does not promote the survival of the builder because he would be better off spending his time and resources finding food or shelter. However, once the temple is built it will promote the survival of the society as a whole because it unifies the people and motivates individuals to act for the good of one, but for the good of many.

The structure of the Catholic Church is similar. Many individuals with authority in the Church take vows of abstinence, an obvious sacrifice that few are willing to make. However, some believe that the sacrifice of sex and other pleasures that may be restricted by the vows of certain clergy members is a crucial part in maintaining the Catholic Church and spreading their message effectively. The Catholic Church has processes that are similar to those in group selection which may be one of the reasons for its survival thus far.

To sum it up:

à = Analogous to

Clergy members à Temple builder

n these people exhibit behavior that does not benefit themselves, but is for the good of the group

Vows of Abstinence à Building the temple instead of collecting food.

n This is the sacrifice made by the individual

The Catholic Church à The temple builder’s society

n this is the group being promoted

Maintaining the Catholic Church à The survival of the society

n the premise for the theory of group selection


Again this is just a weird idea I had. I don’t mean to belittle Catholic Church in any way.