Fear-Based Upbringing Produces Anxious Religiosity
Editorial verification status: this atom has been extracted from an explanatory audiovisual source, and it has now been linked to the closest books within the Shahrur project at the book level. For precise academic citation, consult the original book and the original episode together.
Formulation of the claim
Shahrur says that much of common religiosity is built on frightening people with hellfire and punishment, not on conscious and responsible understanding.
Explanation
He describes the way children and people are raised on the image of a God who punishes constantly, and he sees this as producing a pathological religiosity based on dread. This kind of religiosity makes the individual preoccupied with fear rather than with righteous action or building up the earth. He therefore considers the educational and family problem to be part of the making of extremism. His criticism is not limited to jurisprudence alone; rather, he extends it to upbringing and popular culture.
Its place in the episode’s argument
This atom links early religious fear to susceptibility to extremism and terrorism.
Scope of the claim
It does not say that fear has no place at all; rather, that making it the basis of religious upbringing is a mistake.
Brief excerpt
“You always imagine for him, the Lord of the Worlds, that He is a sadistic god.”
Nearby links
- Shahrur - Martyrdom
- Shahrur - Faith
- Book: Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism