While talking to a college student who is a Psychology major, I suggested that he read about authoritarianism to understand what is happening today. But understanding authoritarianism gives a partial picture. Understanding tribalism helps us to gain a fuller understanding of today's world.
What is tribalism? G'Joe Joseph (no available biographical material is available) wrote an article warning us about tribalism for the Gospel Coalition website (click here for the article). In terms of reading level and the depth of discussion on the subject, the article is very accessible. So, in other words, there is no real good definition of tribalism or any substantial description of the subject in the article. But there are still some good points made in the article.
In lieu of any definition or description of tribalism provided by Joseph in the article, the following is provided. There are several definitions of the word 'tribalism.' A post Cold War definition defines tribalism by a high degree of loyalty to a group regardless of what the group is about. We could add to this initial description a more detailed description of that degree of loyalty. We could better describe tribalism as a high degree of loyalty to one's group such that one embraces a moral relativity. That moral relativity says that what is right and wrong depends on who does what to whom. So what is right and wrong depends on who the perpetrator is and who the victim is. If the perpetrator is one's own group, then what is done is morally acceptable. But, if the victim of the same action is one's own group, then the same action is immoral.
That working definition of tribalism is somewhat alluded to when Joseph describes the first warning side of tribalism. That first sign is when one makes their own group into an idol while one demonizes other, especially opposing, groups. And this is a good point that Joseph makes about tribalism.
Another good point that Joseph makes about tribalism is found in the second warning sign gives of it. That one has possibly embraced tribalism when one easily loses their patience with those from other groups when they share. Joseph gives counterexamples to losing one's patients by mentioning Priscilla and Aquila Acts 18.
But perhaps losing patience with others can be better described by noting that a partial way of describing tribalism is to say that it is group authoritarianism. Then one only needs to review the list of traits of authoritarian or authoritarian personality type (click here for an article containing that list). One of the traits from that list is as follows:
Belief in aggression toward those who do not subscribe to conventional thinking, or who are different
If we understand that conventional thinking is relative to the group one belongs to, we can see the connection between tribalism and the 2nd warning sign given by Joseph. Other pertinent traits of the authoritarian personality type from that list include:
- Blind allegiance to conventional beliefs about right and wrong
- Resistance to creative, dangerous ideas. A black and white worldview.
- A negative view of people in general
- A need for strong leadership which displays uncompromising power
Even more enlightening about why authoritarianism, which is a part of tribalism, causes impatience with those from other groups can be found in Erich Fromm's description of the authoritarianism personality. From accurately describes authoritarian personalities as being fear-driven (click here for the article).
So once we see the link between tribalism and authoritarian personality types, we can better understand the dynamics of why tribalism produces the first two signs that Joseph has provided.
The third sign of tribalism that Joseph mentions is when one expects too much from what the groups can do. In terms of groups that are oriented around ideology, expecting too much involves the belief that one's ideology is omniscient and carries with it the assumption that one's ideology has the best answers for every situation and that there are no ideologies that can contribute good ideas to one's own ideology.
Joseph calls that assumption of omniscience, 'making good things into ultimate things.' That one believes that one's group can provide perfection, or we could add relative perfection, in whatever area one's group works on.
Joseph wrote his article so that people, especially Christians, can escape tribalism. That we can belong to tribes, or the word 'group' is a better word to use without becoming tribal. And he is correct. But we need a little more information on how to avoid tribalism than to just spot a few warning signs.
We all belong to groups, but whether that belonging will yield tribalism depends on whether we can control the level of loyalty we have to a group. And how much loyalty we have to a given group depends on what we expect to get out of the given group. In particular, two of several reasons why we join groups are that groups help provide a sense of significance and security. And it seems that the more sense of significance we get from belonging to a given group, the more loyal we become to that group and thus the closer we come to embracing tribalism.
Thus what Joseph says to Christians toward the end of his article is helpful. Our greatest sense of significance must come from our belonging to Christ. And one of the major parts of belonging to Christ is that we become like the tax collector from the parable of Luke 18:9-14, (click here for the parable). That our biggest sense of significance comes from knowing that despite our own flaws and sins, that, if we believe, we have received God's mercy because of what Christ has done for us on the cross. Such a belonging should go a long way in keeping us from being tribal.
No comments:
Post a Comment