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The
study of the structure, the functioning and the social control processes
that are found within the group environment are very important to social
psychology and lends itself to many applications.
One of these applications concerns the social control processes that
manifest themselves within certain religious groups, to which people
affiliate themselves in order to express and live out their need for
spirituality and transcendence.
Religious
groups behave just like any other group: they function on the basis
of their structure, defined by the roles of each member and his status,
by the way in which the various members interact and communicate amongst
them, and by the shared norms. The person who, within the group, occupies
an intensely active and high powered position becomes the leader, who,
due to his prestige, importance and value, enjoys an elevated status.
Thanks
to his power, he can influence the other members, modifying their convictions
and their behaviour, but the success of his actions depends on numerous
interdependent factors.
Scholars
who study social psychology have made distinctions between the various
types of "power" exercised by these leaders.
Providing
some examples that apply to the religious groups, we can cite the so-called
"remunerative power", based on the use of awards and punishment, that
in religious groups is exercised by the leader in various ways and to
varying degrees.
Essentially, all religions are founded on some sort of "award" and "punishment"
system that the divinity attributes to the followers based on the strength
of their faith or their actions, but, in some cases, this "remunerative"
power is transformed into "coercive power".
This happens when the charismatic leader (frequently a individual with
psychological disturbances) uses his power to limit the free decision
making capacity of the other members, perhaps influencing them dishonestly,
even arriving at violating their very consciences and privacy.
Studies done on the negative effects of coercive power demonstrate that
coercion preys on the fears of the individual and this fear can linger
even after the individual has left the group.
Furthermore, an elevated level of fear of the leader makes the person
less able to confront and solve his problems, contributing to generating
in him various forms of social maladjustment.
For
example, take the situation where the person inserted into the religious
group is persuaded into making public confessions.
The psychological trauma generated by these confessions causes a deep
"wound" that is often difficult to heal and could prevent the person
from having positive emotional relationships within other social groups.
There have been cases whereby the charismatic leader exercises his power
by creating in the affiliated member an "identification" with him.
The person involved in the religious group, in this case, obeys the
leader not because he fears him, but rather, because he feels "like"
him, he feels that he is "one" with him, and acts, believes, and thinks
like him.
The most peculiar aspect of this form of submission is that the person
is so conditioned and lacking in critical capabilities that he doesn't
even realise the state he is in: indeed, he believes his actions and
thoughts to be his own.
In
religious groups, this mechanism is fairly frequent since the leader
presents himself to his followers, not as a normal person, but as a
person endowed with the most extraordinary powers, sent by God, God's
messenger, or even God Almighty himself.
It
is clear that the god-leader is not subject to criticism and can resolve
any problem by appealing to the impenetrability of his divine designs.
In
one of his studies, Dr. Arturo Domenico Nesci makes some considerations
regarding the personality characteristics of Jim Jones (the charismatic
leader that led over 900 followers to their death) and states that "...
on an unconscious level...the fundamental attribute of the leader is
his absolute power over life and death." In the case of Jim Jones, Nesci
affirms that his pathological relationship with his mother caused him
to conceive his relationships with others as if it were a life or death
issue, a question of survival. Recently, an interesting hypothesis was
formulated concerning the relationship between brainwashing (a common
occurrence in some religious groups), and the dependency bond that unites
the followers and the charismatic leader. Professor Zablocki in his
article "Analysing the costs of leaving: a new approach to the scientific
study of brainwashing" formulates the hypothesis that brainwashing can
occur when power is exercised by a charismatic authority. The function
of the leader, according to Zablocki, would be, therefore, to make it
as difficult as possible for members in crisis to leave the group, constantly
increasing the "cost of leaving".
The
religious group functions as a system in whereby a vicious circle of
positive feedback is in effect: the members expect ever greater "miracles"
from the leader and the leader expects more and more burdensome "sacrifices"
and proof of faith from his followers.
This, however, involves a system of precarious equilibrium that risks
crumbling should heavy crises arise. A way out of this vicious circle
lies in finding a way to guarantee the honesty of the members, independent
of the success or lack thereof of the leader. According to Zablocki,
this is possible only if the individual is inserted into the group by
involving himself so deeply that the "costs" of his exit from the group
would be too high to be sustained.On an emotional level, the Zablocki's
hypothesis is that the charismatic relationship reintroduces the individual
to the attachment-detachment relationship between mother and child.
The initial instinct of the charismatic leader is to feed, and the instinct
of the disciple is to be fed.
The action of the leader, then, can be seen in the destruction of the
previous convictions (cognitive level) and in the creation of strong
need of attachment (emotional level).
If the process is successful, the individual becomes "starved" for convictions
and attachment, and begins to depend heavily on those who provide him
with it.
In
the successive phase, the person could end up relinquishing his individuality
to the point where he can no longer recognise the emotional validity
of life away from the religious community and from the leader that leads
them with his "charisma".
Naturally,
it is important to emphasise the fact that there are charismatic leaders
who understand how to exercise their spirituality in a balanced and
reasonable way, without undermining the freedom of his followers, and
that there are religious groups from which one can leave without suffering
retaliation of any sort and within which the creativity and the rationality
of the members are respected just as their privacy and their emotional
relationships are protected.
This
undoubtedly positive reality in many groups must never weaken the vigilance
towards those leaders who exercise their spiritual power without scruples,
using other human beings as instruments for their personal interests
and undermining the very foundations of social co-existence, to the
point of persuading their followers to self-destructive gestures which
have now become sadly well-known for their repetition and drama.
(Traduzione
Interpres sas - Giussano)
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