Chapter 2- Religion as the counterbalance
to Mass-mindedness
If governments want total control over the
facts of experience and change values, they
must get rid of opposing views (namely religion).
Religions give moral views beyond that of
the state which in turn empowers the individual
to make their own sovereign choices to adopt
certain ethics or practices. If there is nothing
but the empirical, statistical reality, then
there are no individuals since all are a function
of the state and are noted by statistics.
Jung makes the distinction between ‘religion’
and ‘creed’, where ‘creed’ is a result
of a compromise between state and the faith
since individuals announce their beliefs to
the world; while ‘religion’ on the other
hand is a personal relationship with the divine.
This is of course quite different from today’s
nomenclature where religion and creed are
ideas that are lumped together; Jung was using
Creed in regard to Institutionalised religion.
Personal responsibility derives from the individual
to uphold ethics and morals in accordance
with their God. It is because of this relationship
with the transcendent reality that lay the
very foundations for freedom and autonomy;
simply people have different experiences and
connect differently to God.
The Collectivist dislikes religion since they
insist on the sole superiority and authority
of the state. Despite recognising moral and
real claims of the state over individuals,
Believers however insist that the individual
and the state are subject to God’s authority.
Intellectual insight in the realm of morality
lacks the religious drive to enforce and enact
ethics. The collectivist despises religion,
turning the state into a religion of itself;
one where state slavery of the collective
are used to override that of the individual.
The leader becomes adored and worshiped, determining
what is good and evil and he or she is seen
as sacrosanct. They become the only one truth,
and mass-rules makes them a social unit. Without
religion, the state replaces it and becomes
god.
Rituals, spiritual practices and magic are
seen by rationalists as superstition, but
to the psychologist, they provide psychological
safety (de entrée et de sortie) or entry
and exit. So effective are the practices that
they are emulated by the state in the form
of military parades, banners, bands and flags.
For safety and security, individuals would
cling further to the state. The goals of religion
can be easily appropriated to the goal of
the state since the state offers distribution
of material goods, prosperity and security.
In essence, the absence of religion forces
people to deify the state and the leader.
Hence lie the line ‘Naturam expellas furca
tamen usque recurret’ (you can throw nature
out with a pitchfork but she’ll always come
back.) Humans are spiritual creatures and
they would ultimately worship what they consider
as the highest ideal whether that God or the
state. Without the metaphysical foundations
for morality, the individual has no grounds
through which they can practice their ethical
responsibility; thus there is nothing but
following the state and the collective.
