Anyone who knows me personally would know
that when it comes to religion and God, I am a huge skeptic. However, by
looking at the statistics, it is obvious that a lot of people have been
convinced and persuaded by ‘God’s words and teachings’ (Pew Research
Center, 2015) .
Each person has their own personal reason for their belief, however, after a few
lectures on persuasion and influence, I soon came to recognise that many of the
techniques found to be persuasively successful have also been used by religion.
I agree that it would be a tremendous oversimplification to claim that these
techniques are the reason behind the spread and acceptance of theology. Nevertheless,
I do believe that they have a significant impact on people’s decision to
believe in a certain religion.

The
Principle of Commitment and Consistency, which is another of Cialdini’s six
core principles, can also be found in the Abrahamic religions. According to
this principle, people are more likely to actually do something once they have
publicly claimed or promised to do so. Once we make a promise, we feel obliged
to fulfill our promise and stay true to our words. In addition, once we have
made a decision and committed to something, we try and convince ourselves that
we have made the right call by developing new justifications to confirm our
decision. One of the most obvious examples of this tactic being used in
religion is the sacrament of Confirmation performed in Christianity. The
confirmation ritual allows those who have already been baptized to confirm
their belief and the promises made on their behalf. Unfortunately, the act of
baptism, which is mainly performed at infancy, creates a sense of commitment
itself, and many would feel obliged to stay consistent with the decision made
on their behalf as a child. In addition, most Catholic churches carry out the
ritual around the age of 14, when the child still lacks the intellectual
capacity and sufficient knowledge needed to make such a significant judgment.
This is one of the reasons why many people, including myself, believe
that the notion of theology should not be introduced to a child until much later in their
lives. If we were to allow children to live the first 20 years of their lives
without the mention of any God or religion, we would be able to provide
them with the opportunity to make a well-balanced decision, rather than
indoctrinate them and force them down a certain path.
Another
persuasive tactic, which arguably could be religions’ most effective technique,
is providing a sense of belonging. This was actually brought to my attention by
an atheist friend who claimed that growing up in a Hindu family, with religious
parents and relatives, actually created a sense of alienation for her. The
religion, according to her, formed a community for the rest, which she felt
left out of. As pointed out in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we are social
beings who need to interact and communicate


As
mentioned previously, persuasive techniques may not be the only answer to why
religion has been able to spread so vastly, yet it is one of many rational
responses. Most of the techniques I have discussed do not refer to logic in any
way and instead, they appeal to emotions such as fear and a sense of belonging.
Maybe if the ideas proposed were a bit more realistic and consistent, then they
would no longer need to scare us into believing; reasoning with us would be
enough.
References
Garner,
R. (2005). Post-It® Note Persuasion: A Sticky Influence. Journal of
Consumer Psychology , 15 (3), 230-237.
Huitt,
W. (2007). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Educational Psychology
Interactive
Pew Research Center. (2015, April 2). The Future of
World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050. Retrieved
November 29, 2016, from Pew Research Center:
http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/
Russell, B. (1957). Why I am not a Christian, and other
essays on religion and related subjects. New York City, NY: Simon and
Schuster.
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