Spirit Walk Ministry - Religion as Propaganda

Spirit Walk Ministry

"a grimoire for mystical thinkers"

Spirit Walk Ministry
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
United States
contact@spiritwalkministry.com

Religion as Propaganda

Concentration of power in a political machine is bad;
and an Established Church is only a political machine;
it was invented for that; it is nursed, cradled, preserved for that;
it is an enemy to human liberty,
and does no good which it could not better do
in a split-up and scattered condition.

Mark Twain - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Religion is man's oldest form of propaganda. Every religion claims that every other religion is of a misleading nature, so we can conclude that all of religion is propaganda from one point of view or another. Whether it be Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Scientology, Mormonism, etc. etc., it is all propaganda in one form or another. All are biased information used to push a particular point of view. The point of view being pushed, regardless of which ideology it belongs to, is the existence of a particular god and set of codes and rituals.

Religious propaganda has its roots in the early philosophers, who were the first to theorize about it. Aristotle believed that emotions were central and vital to influence the opinions of a group of people. His mentor Plato believed the voicing of opinions should only be allowed by people who are wise, which is reflected in the Athenian system of democracy. He believed that emotions play a significant role in influencing public opinion and that people who are not as wise are more easily influenced by emotions. Plato was also the first to define the difference between good persuasion and bad persuasion, what he called propaganda. He said that if there was logic and reasoning behind the person’s opinion, then it was good. If it was based on emotions, then it was bad and viewed it as manipulation.

Religion was central to early political control of society. By assuming the authority of higher beings, priests and princes were able to suppress dissent without constant recourse to military terrorism. The more successful leaders realized that internal legal harmonization bought significant advantages, and most judicial systems are religiously inspired. Both English Common law and Roman Codex systems exeunt across Europe used to presume that 'all law is known to God' and the law courts were merely a forum in which we lesser beings might 'discover the mind of God'.

Since 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has guided most western judiciaries. But, the British monarch is still enthroned "By the grace of God, Defender of the Faith" and British coins bear the legend "Dei Gratia Regina" around the royal image as a constant reminder to British subjects of the sovereign's rule by divine providence.

Basically propaganda's etymological roots point toward a word pertaining to the spreading of a particular faith, in the case of this etymological branch: Catholic faith. We all know that Catholicism is the forerunner to all of Christianity and the doctrines it espouses, particularly Jesus' sacrifice for sins. So when you are spreading the "good news", be aware that you are spreading propaganda. This goes for any religion, not just Christianity.

Religious propaganda was not used in a formal way until the Roman Catholic Church, dating back to 1622 and Pope Gregory XV. He began distributing and creating propaganda in support of the Catholic Church after the Counter Reformation . This was one of the first, documented instances where persuasion was used to promote one person’s self-interest . The Pope realized that the other non-Catholic religions were utilizing techniques that appealed to the individual, rather than their own fearmongering techniques. Protestant religions often focus on the individual on a personal level and gives them more control in their own religion. The Catholic Church had to fight the power of the bandwagon effect on the people who were leaving the Church for the new and exciting religion. Though this concept was unknown, it can be identified, and the Church did its best to fight it by reframing their message to the people.