fandomhigh | Hubris from Revelation: the Social Engineering of Ultimate Truths [Monday, Period 2]

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Hubris from Revelation: the Social Engineering of Ultimate Truths [Monday, Period 2]

Ghanima was sitting idly on her desk again as people filed in, completely absorbed in her book. But the moment that everyone was seated, she snapped to attention.

"Like the definition of religion, the construction of religious history is a task fraught with ideological implications," Ghanima said crisply, setting her text aside and getting up to wander between the desks. "Early studies of religions were often written to imply that the author's own religion was the most accurate. Even in a secular history, to imply that religion "progresses" towards better understanding of reality makes a value judgment about past religions; likewise, to consider religion an essentially social construction with no transcendent meaning denies the claims of every religious authority."

"It is important to note that here is no time or place in human history where religious movements are not being founded, and religious practice is not merely a matter of founding prophets but also of local traditions and reforms. There is not even a single era when the Abrahamic religions were developed; the Jewish prophets lived some centuries before Jesus, Muhammad came six centuries after him, and Bahá'u'lláh founded the Bahá'í Faith over a millennium later."

"Religion was the dominant ideology behind many conflicts of the Middle Ages. Muslims were in conflict with Zoroastrians during the Islamic conquest of Persia; Christians were in conflict with Muslims during the Byzantine-Arab Wars, Crusades, Spanish Reconquista and Ottoman wars in Europe; Christians were in conflict with Jews during the Crusades, Reconquista and Inquisition; Shamans were in conflict with Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims and Christians during the Mongol invasions; and Muslims were in conflict with Hindus during Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent."

"European colonisation during the 15th to 19th centuries resulted in the spread of Christianity to Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, Australia and the Philippines. The 18th century saw the beginning of secularisation in Europe, rising to notability in the wake of the French Revolution. By the 20th century, religion was no longer the dominant ideological force behind international wars, but had generally been unseated by political ideals such as democracy and communism. However, it is still a driving factor in regional conflicts, especially in areas where a minority religion has a natural resource that the majority desires."

"You may be asking, 'why is this important?' After all, isn't this a class about religions? What does the politics matter?" Ghanima continued wander the rows, gesturing as she spoke. "To understand a religion, you cannot simply accept the theological and mythical history of it. You must understand how it was shaped, what shaped it, and how it influenced the world around it. A religion is not a thing set in stone, but a living, breathing, creation. One which must be carefully tended and raised, least it all prey to those around it."

"To you, this may sound misanthropic at best. After all, isn't religion about divine revelation? To the lay-person, yes, of course, it may well be. But it is also a method of validation, of control, of imposing something upon the surroundings, and attempting to force the world to fit the mold created for it."

"And believe me when I say that the use of religion as a weapon and a tool for control is not an obscure idea. I possess the training of the Bene Gesserit; a key social, religious and political force in my universe. The Bene Gesserit have chosen to use indirect methodologies to further their goals, rather than wield overt power themselves. They have noted the Taoist principle that whatever rises must fall; and so rather than taking direct control of the human race, instead manipulate the social and political order with subtlety and insinuation, often using extraordinarily long-term stratagems spanning generations."

"One method that the Sisterhood practices "religious engineering" through a faction called the Missionaria Protectiva, which spreads contrived myths, prophecies and superstition among the populations of the Empire. A Bene Gesserit may then later take advantage of the prophecies, casting herself as a guide, protector, or some other figure in fulfillment of the prophecy, in order to manipulate the religious subjects for protection or other purposes. These myths also exploit religion as a powerful force in human society; by controlling the particulars of religion, the Bene Gesserit have a manipulative lever on society in general," she said calmly. "It is not something done lightly, but it is done often and efficiently. Entire planets have had their philosophies re-engineered to suit the desires of the Sisterhood, with no one the wiser. This can take years, decades, even centuries, but the Sisterhood can afford to be patient, so long as it serves their purpose."

"Your activity for today is to take a religion that you are familiar with, and look at it with a critical eye. Who benefits from its laws? Who does not? How could you leverage it to your own advantage if you were stuck somewhere with no money and no allies? If you would like to pair up with a friend or two, please feel free, or you may work on your own."

"And the God of the TAs has struck. Mr. Bass, Miss Levine, congratulations."

[OCD up!]

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There was no theology in particular that Ender was so familiar with as to know its laws exactly; but not only was religion hard to repress, even in his day, there were arguments to be put towards any strict philosophy being the same.

It was a thought experiment, at best - if ever Ender had any doubts about how to shape religions, he'd merely have to ask Val, and he didn't - but he did his best to look inviting anyway, curious to see what someone else would bring to the table.

"Do you need someone to work with?" Jack asked, leaning toward Ender. He already knew what he knew; it would be interesting to see what someone from a less religious world might bring to this.

"I think 'need' is a very specific word for it," Ender said, with a light crack of a smile, "Which is not to say I'd refuse an offer to."

"Yes, well, I didn't think you would waste away for want of a partner," Jack said airily. "Which is not to say I'm rescinding the offer."

"As long as we've got our basic wants and needs sorted out," he said, amused, "I believe it's time to talk religion -- I'm sure my sister's told you our world's take on it, so I offer the floor to you."

"It does help to be clear," Jack said, smiling. "And yes a while ago. She mentioned there isn't really religion -- in public, at least -- but your names are all saints' names."

"My world was mostly Christian," he added. "I'm Jewish, and I've known a few Muslims, but it's not exactly polite to be anything but whatever flavor of Christian is most common where you are. But I halfway think people find support for whatever they want to do -- or want to prevent -- in whatever religious text they were raised with."

"Justification is rampant in any philosophy," Ender noted, "Whether it be religious or something else. Comfort's a major motifying factor for anyone of any culture, and what easier way than to say the supreme diety supports your cause?" His mouth curled. "A token towards something you want to do, whether that's procurring something or simply the act of defiance -- as in our names."

Ender hadn't known his parents long, or well, but he knew what their choices had been rooted in.

Jack considered this for a moment. "Along the same lines, I think my guardian took some delight in translating my name as Priest," he offered. "Though you've made me wonder how people and governments in your world justify themselves, if they're denied the option of saying it's what God wants."

He knew he wasn't exactly answering the topic he was supposed to speak on. This was more interesting than trying to explain why God cared if he put cheese on a sandwich or not.

"The easiest and most basic strategy to use is fear," Ender said; he'd spent some time on this topic himself. "If there's a massive external threat, like we faced, it's easy to keep everyone in line. It's the central touchstone of any organised religion: there's us, and there's them, and as long as there is a them, we persist together. Take away the them, though, and we fall apart - there's nothing to claim we are a unified whole against. Except other unified wholes."

He made a little explosive gesture with his hand. "Nationalism, the great opiate born in the 20th century," he said, wryly. "You don't need a single or plural Gods if your deity is the country itself, and your religion the iron-clad definition of what is your people and what isn't. I think 'religion' is too restrictive an area to think in, really, when you're considering these kinds of questions."

"Perhaps, but religion seems to be the blunt weapon of choice," Jack said, running a finger down his copy of list of religiously-caused wars Professor Atreides had read off. "It makes sense. The government can take a man's life or his land. A church can ruin his eternal rest."

"But it is all about fear."

"If that's the kind of eternal rest the people believe in," Ender said, glancing towards Jack's list to get a little more context. "Like I said, nationalism began to run high in the 20th century. Ideals of identity, the fear of not being a true American, or Russian, or Latvian or Chinese or Japanese-- of betraying one's people-- became as hard to swallow as disturbing your own afterlife. And on the other side, when your people, your country are victorious, then you are a part of the victory. It's always appealing to be on the winning side, too; whether you gauge that in actual victories, or in constant quiet defiance, enduring some tyrant."

"Quiet defiance?" Jack echoed, since he had no idea how such things would progress in his own 20th century. "Not rebellion, then, no dumping tea all over things, just -- naming your children after religious figures?"

It sounded much less interesting to him than the type that tried to actually undermine things, but he didn't care much for the colonial government he knew to begin with.

"A tiny thing," Ender said, a wry touch of a smile on his lips, "Because it reminds you, and those around you, just a little bit, just by a hair, a hint: this is who I am, this is where you stop, and you can't take that from me. Larger rebellions are born from that."

"If you can get everyone who's been doing the tiny things to work together, perhaps," Jack said, but doubtfully. "There's something in the air at home. I don't know if it'll go anywhere or if it's just some kind of end-of-the-century fidgeting."

"'Something in the air'," Ender said, thoughtfully. "That's usually slang for one act of defiance becoming two, and so on-- when people find that they share not only the same identity, but the same symbols, that working together is probably less rare than you'd think." He stapled his fingers. "What's happening?"

He was Ender. In some way, every war was his.

"Do the Irish ever particularly like the English, in any version of this Earth?" Jack wondered aloud. "In my world, the British run the colonies; the Irish work for them. They're starting to talk about rebellion. Mostly just talk, so far, but it's starting to pull in" -- tiny smile, traced with bitterness -- "those in New Amsterdam with no particular loyalty to the crown."

"They do, and they don't," Ender said, lightly. "Some tensions are hard to smoothe out, even with time."

He drummed his fingers against the table. "The Irish aren't the British," he noted, "That's enough to make them a 'we' against the 'them', if those who aren't fond of them are looking for a way to put themselves apart - a tribe to huddle up in."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Precisely. And -- to go back to the class topic -- there's the religious divide, too. People who aren't Anglican have one more reason to line up with the Irish Catholics, since they're outsiders anyhow."

"It's an easy win, if you get the right leader who knows where to look," Ender said. He sounded almost whimsical. Peter's gains had left an impression on more than just his sister. "Ferret up the things they have in common, and tie them together against a common enemy: it's the classic abuse of religion."

"Yes, if they can do it by small steps," Jack said. "If they overreach, they'll be crushed. But if they infiltrate, if they can get even a few in the Colonial government to sympathize -- it wouldn't be so hard at all, given your right leaders."

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Hubris from Revelation: the Social Engineering of Ultimate Truths [Monday, Period 2]

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