You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: Nazis, Computers, and Critical Thought
This is a clever analogy, and I've never thought of it that way. Usually, with regards to authoritarian dictators with charismatic streaks, I've always been comfortable chalking it up to mass delusion (which seems to be achievable all on its own), but you bring up an excellent point. Faith can, and oftentimes does, create a backdoor into an individual's mind that makes him or her more receptive to similar messages presents for ulterior purposes.
It works with any in-group shibboleths. If you talk like them, use their distinctive language, it subconsciously inspires trust. Works for political partisans as well as it does for religious adherents. Religion differs only in that it actually comes out and explicitly tells you to be uncritically trusting of their source materials and leaders.
This is why many pyramid schemes like Amway and DoTerra are explicitly Christian and do a lot of recruiting in churches btw.