Behind the Rituals

Relihiyosa pero… Have you observed those who have schizophrenic personalities? They put up an image of being religious yet their actions and deeds speak otherwise. They do not understand that being spiritual is not just a façade. It is about a deeper understanding of one’s being to be an instrument of peace and love. Yet, once they go out of their church, they could become the hideous villain for others!

Being spiritual according to Dr. Margaret Paul (2007) is synonymous with being a person whose highest priority is to be loving to himself and others. A spiritual person cares about people, animals and the planet, and strives to be a kind person. A spiritual person knows that we are all One, and consciously attempts to honor this Oneness.

In this case, being spiritual is that longing for inner peace; when one’s conscience and intentions are geared towards the common good. It is not the number of times he/she goes to church but for who the inner person is.

When evaluating how “religious” someone is, social scientists and the general public tend to rely on the frequency of religious activities, strength or type of religious beliefs, relative importance of religion in one’s life, or some average of these aspects of religious life (Denton, 2011).

Therefore, there are those people who frequently go to church and perform church rituals yet he or she is not spiritually clean. Being religious then is not an assurance of being “spiritual”.

For many, religion is ritual oriented rather than value oriented. By performing certain rituals and maintaining certain appearances they think they are religious. For many others, religion is a source of values rather than rituals. Rituals serve a sense of community and identity and often become mechanical exercises and hardly inspire any inner change (Ashgar Ali, 2010).

It is in these perceptions when we could infer that it would take an intellectual mindset to become highly functional. Religion could then be viewed and practiced to make the spirit richer and cleaner. If the rituals and community gatherings allow the person to steer his or her intentions towards the common good, then being religious is now merged with the longing and WILLINGNESS to be spiritual.

Psychology Today mentions that psychological research has tended to find that believing in WILL can be beneficial for mental health, and that reducing feelings of self-determination can make people more aggressive and less helpful. As long as individuals remain aware that many factors can influence behavior subconsciously, it may be healthier to think they have control over their destinies.

So, is this now another issue on mental well-being to create a front of being religious yet unclean thoughts and deeds manifest in the person?

Seltzer (2013) mentions that the recently published 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) lists precisely the same nine criteria for narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) as did the previous version, published 19 years earlier. So these longstanding diagnostic yardsticks are by now quite familiar—not only to professionals but to interested laypeople as well. Because only the extreme, or “classic,” narcissist fits all of these criteria, DSM specifies that an individual need meet only five of them (barely more than half) to warrant this unflattering label.

According to the article, here are the nine criteria of NPD:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance.

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.

3. Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).

4. Requires excessive admiration [regularly fishes for compliments, and is highly susceptible to flattery].

5. Has a sense of entitlement.

6. Is interpersonally exploitative.

7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling [or, I would add, unable] to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.

8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.

9. Shows arrogant, haughty [rude and abusive] behaviors or attitudes.

Since their presence in church activities heightens “admiration” from others yet they show arrogant, rude and abusive behaviors, they could never be called spiritually sound.

They are actually SICK!