Thesis Summary
This page defines loyalty as an optional social relationship that varies according to levels of belonging, and then distinguishes it from submission to authority. Loyalty here is thus faith-based and ethical, not blind obedience.
Foundational Atoms
- Loyalty is an optional social relationship
- Loyalty varies according to levels of belonging
- Doctrinal loyalty is linked to faith and righteous deeds
- Loyalty does not mean submission to authority
- Religious loyalty is non-exclusionary
Place of Support within the Book
The summary rests on the middle section of the book, and then on later passages that expand the meaning of loyalty and prevent it from becoming a tool of exclusion.
Limits of the Reading
This page does not deny the existence of multiple affiliations, but restricts the loyalty discussed here to its social and religious meaning as defined by the atoms.