Author: R. Samarasinghe
Publication: World Tamil Hindu Forum
Date: December 18, 2009
URL: http://worldtamilhinduforum.blogspot.com/2009/12/religious-conversion-as-economic.html
Religious conversion has to be examined in
its global context, because coerced conversion is not a spiritual but a political
act with economic motives. So was colonization; though they said they came
to civilize us! The so-called religious wars such as the Crusades were about
wealth and dominance.
War is not an option any more because it is
no longer economically viable. It can lead to expensive recurring conflict,
and though beneficial to the Western military industrial complex, have negative
political implications at home for the politicians. Therefore cultural hegemony
achieved through conversion is an effective political and economic strategy.
The imposition of the belief of cultural superiority
of the colonizer was particularly important in effecting social control of
the colonized. It also underpinned their racial superiority firmly. This process,
defined as hegemony enabled the wheels of capitalist system to move efficiently.
The colonizers also created a comprador class, whom they educated, trained
and some times christianized to continue their work when they eventually withdrew
their military forces of domination. This class has completely internalized
the idea of European cultural and racial superiority. Present new missionary
activity is simply a readjustment of colonial strategy to suit the new global
order.
The British colonizers had an existing developed
literary and cultural tradition which they used to good effect through education,
to create a tame brown elite in colonized countries; to carry out their policies.
But in US, which later became the dominant capitalist state, religion provided
the basis for social solidarity in place of a shared culture and it was but
natural that they would use controlling forms of Christianity to establish
hegemony over people they wished to dominate. This form of Christianity arose
from Puritanism, a strict, narrow and literal interpretation of the Bible
and has evolved into the present day Fundamentalism. Economically, religion
has proved to be a cost-effective form of social control.
Fundamentalist Christian groups, funded mainly
from America have continued to use religion as a weapon, funding 'local' groups
to convert the 'heathens'. They conduct a spiritual war using sophisticated,
psychologically devised forms of mind control and aggressive marketing strategies
using electronic media and incorporating them into proselytizing in India
and Sri Lanka and other parts of Asia as well as Africa.
It is an attempt to retain economic dominance
through cultural/religious hegemony in order to maintain control of valuable
resources.
At these mass rallies for conversion they
use religion as propaganda. The methods used in conversion are the same as
those used in advertising and war fare. They attack the mind from several
directions, breaking down the buyers' or enemies' resistance.
Buddhism which appeals to reason and focuses
on disciplining the mind and promotes critical thinking stand little chance
against this onslaught. There are many morally reprehensible methods used
in conversion but only a few can be dealt with here.
One of the main techniques used by missionaries
is to create a state of cognitive dissonance in their victims' minds. That
is, they would create doubts about the validity of their existing belief systems,
at the same time offering some thing 'far superior' which would advance them
materially and spiritually. The interpretation of reality offered by their
original religions as well as the customs etc. will be shown to have less
status and usefulness.
Holding two contradictory views at the same
time would cause psychological tension, motivating the person to reduce dissonance
by changing their attitudes, beliefs or behavious. Aggressive missionary activity
would create dissonance and convince some, that their beliefs and culture
was inferior; leading them to avoid this emotional tension or cognitive dissonance
by changing them. The targeted would shift their allegiance to the spiritual
colonizers and identify with them, while seeing the 'natives' and their religions
through the missionaries' interpretation.
At some of the prayer meetings where new recruits
had been lured, they had been asked to bring a statue or picture of the Buddha
or Shiva etc or a picture of the Pope. Then after the initial preamble of
denigrating their religions, the recruits would be asked to smash the statue
or tear and trample the holy pictures. This would create a situation of 'no
return' spiritually. The prayer leaders are powerfully persuasive, similar
to modern salesmen and use the vulnerability and weakness of the victims to
their own advantage, so that they would be forced to conform with the group.
The idea of purifying one's soul through confession
and completely washing away one's sins (total immersion baptism) has existed
since early biblical times. Since man was 'born of sin' he had to be made
'pure'.
During the Cold War, enterprising psychiatrists
began to experiment with electric shock therapy and mind altering drugs on
their patients. According to Naomi Klein, (The Shock Doctrine 2007), Dr. Ewen
Cameron, who had been the president of the American Psychiatrist Association
and later of the World Psychiatrist Association, rejected Freud's talk therapy
and began using electroshock therapy as well as a cocktail of newly discovered
mind altering drugs to try to return the minds of patients to a state of tabula
rasa, where the earlier personality was wiped out, so that he could reprogram
them as he wished.
For example, the sheer volume of noise at
one of these 'prayer meetings' shuts out thoughts and one has no choice but
to listen to the magnified voice of the Pastor. His shouting and Halleluiahs
are interspaced with loud religious pop music and shouting to Satan, Mahasona
(a local demon) and related demons etc to leave forthwith! The confused patients
allow manipulation through being stunned by the force of persuasion. Sometimes
physical force is used to restrain them. Sometimes it is not only their freedom
to think that is murdered but their bodies as well.
In the recent deaths that took place at one
of these Evangelical Meetings in Viharamaha Devi Park, one of the women who
subsequently died was tied up and isolated in a cage, and her father or relatives
were forcibly prevented from accessing her. Thus isolated and intimidated
by a screaming Pastor and a shouting and singing mass of unfamiliar people
she had gone into shock, as they would have expected, and then they would
have reprogrammed her, or 'saved her soul'; but her body was not prepared
for the violence imposed on it. It was a very public execution, all in the
name of religion.
There are usually thousands at these conversion
meetings and many who come due to sickness or poverty or helplessness are
intimidated and coerced by the weight of sheer numbers. The total power of
the presiding Pastor backed by the shouting, singing and praying congregation
shocks the victims into compliance.
As anyone who reads the history of the Christian
religion will know that it has a long history of torture and murder of those
who reject their views.
According to Klein, Dr Cameron used what he
called "input-overload" or use of six times the normal electroshock
to change behavior.
Dr Cameron spoke of 'wearing down of defenses'
and the 'breaking down of the individual under continuous interrogation'.
The label applied to 'the enemy' then was Communist, and now it is 'infested
by Satan' which really mean non-believer. The word that is repeated again
and again is "Jesus" so that Satan is driven out and that word replaces
Buddha or Shiva etc. It is 'shock and awe' by other means.
Hitler and Mussolini used similar methods
very successfully. For them the Satan was the non Aryan Jews and Slavs etc.
The conversions are a two pronged attack against
society. They target the poor and vulnerable, because in a democracy numbers
mean power, but they also hunt the vulnerable among the power elite. Here,
they are able to manipulate the nation through internal interference with
the machinery of power, subtly. They target the lonely or the bereaved and
depressed among the rich and powerful and promise personal peace and of course
salvation. The prayer group provides a substitute family to the lonely and
the real family and community are gradually ripped apart.
The core of a culture is religion. The foundation
of a nation is its culture. The loss of culture and religion weakens a people
and naturally and instinctively we tend to react emotionally and irrationally
when our way of life is threatened by alien forces. But in modern context
this is not skillful. It is made out into an attack on freedom of choice and
therefore a rights issue and also since 'their' right to 'save our souls'
has been given to them by God. Our actions have to be justified through rational
behavior and the use of law.
In acting like victims we become disempowered
and taking the law into our own hands criminalizes us and makes them, into
martyrs - which is what these Evangelists want; in order to obtain more funding
from their donors. There is no accountability to the donors or the Government
who is responsible for the people they prey on, as to how this vast amount
of money is spent.
We are no longer fighting the Portuguese but
sophisticated, well funded pseudo-religious organizations who use criminal
methods against our society to re-colonize us again. Therefore we should use
the law against them but, also ask ourselves why, with free education and
free healthcare people still flock to these false messiahs.
