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.Compelled to reenact the role of the unselfish and invincible child in their relationships to God and the religious community, spiritual martyrs feel chronically depleted and resentful.THE SPIRITUAL CRUSADERThe spiritual crusader who "beholds the mote that is in his brother's eye but considers not the beam in his own eye" (Matthew 7:3) epitomizes a more hostile form of dogmatic religiosity.Discomfort with sexual and oppositional urges is managed by focusing on the "sins" of others.Instead of berating themselves for their faults and limitations, crusaders externalize their self-contempt and despise in others the weaknesses that they hate in themselves.To feel scorn at the indiscretions of others is also a means of displacing their resentment toward their captious and intolerant parents.In contrast to other dogmatic types who tend to be unassertive and emotionally constricted, crusaders are zealous and indignant.Their obsession with annihilating social evil is a defense against acknowledging their own vulnerability to corruption.In addition, condemnation of social immorality enables pugnacious believers to vent their hostility without guilt and to feel morally superior.Preoccupation with the scandalous also allows the more aggressive dogmatic to unconsciously rebel against his self-imposed moral restrictions under the guise of being a respectable and an incorruptible religious servant.Spiritual crusaders are also determined to convert others to their religious beliefs.Intolerant religious fanatics exhibit an emotional defense that psychoanalysts call "identification with the aggressor." Some children protect themselves against feeling belittled by condescending parents by identifying with them so that they themselves become intolerant and judgmental.Aggressive proselytizing permits crusaders to displace the resentment that they unconsciously harbor toward their domineering parents onto people with religious differences.Fanatics are also intolerant of people with divergent beliefs because ideological differences arouse feelings of doubt that threaten their need for certainty.Many mature, spiritually committed individuals legitimately oppose violence and immorality and seek reforms through social activism.Crusaders can be distinguished from those who are genuinely dedicated to social ideals by their overzealousness, insensitivity and extreme intolerance.THE SPIRITUAL INTELLECTUALIndividuals in this category are intellectually drawn to religious ideas and concepts, but their faith is emotionally impoverished and noncommittal.Habitually immersed in theological or religious studies, spiritual intellectuals are highly introspective and relatively unconcerned with social causes or service to others.They cope with their neurotic fears through intellectualization and emotional detachment.Superficially, intellectuals resemble legalists in their conscientious pursuit of religious knowledge.However, legalists study diligently to preclude moral error, whereas the intellectually inclined are less concerned with living the law than knowing it.Instead of asserting their moral righteousness, they build self-esteem by exhibiting their intellectual superiority.Undaunted by the inflexibility of conscience that torments other dogmatic types, spiritual intellectuals appear more supercilious and self-assured.As with other modes of faith, spiritual intellectualism is rooted in childhood experiences.Many authoritarian parents are narcissistically gratified by their children's intellectual accomplishments.Children who happen to be bright may seek affirmation by becoming overachievers.Children who are appreciated primarily for their intellectual capabilities become adults who are compelled to attain academic success in order to feel worthwhile.This compulsive need for intellectual recognition spills over into their religious practice.With the exception of reclusive types, spiritual intellectuals are the least likely to have strong interpersonal attachments.Their aloofness and dispassion stand in sharp opposition to the compunction of the legalists, the timorousness of the martyrs, and the zealousness of the crusaders.However, their calm exteriors belie their deeply repressed conflicts.Strong conflicting urges to comply with their parents' wishes and to rebel against parental expectations create unbearable tension in the intellectual type.Individuals in this category are also caught between their longings for emotional closeness and their fears of attachment.They learned that to accept affection is tantamount to thwarting their self-development for the parent's edification.Unwilling to relinquish their individuality, they deny their needs for love and guard their independence.Still, the fact that the concept of God is appealing suggests that their need for attachment to God and others is not entirely suppressed.Their fascination with religious ideas keeps them superficially bonded to a transcendent ideal, while serving to protect them from encountering the anticipated critical and overpowering God.By reading about the religious experiences of others, spiritual intellectuals relate to God vicariously.However, since their feelings are inaccessible, they feel disconnected from others and from God.THE SPIRITUAL RECLUSEThe spiritual recluse is the most alienated and withdrawn of the dogmatic types.Although most were not cruelly mistreated, they endured relentless criticism and harsh discipline that severely undermined their self-confidence and initiative.Since the slightest rebuff causes them to suffer catastrophic loss of self-esteem, they avoid the intolerable anxiety of associating with people and attempt to fulfill their emotional needs by establishing an exclusive relationship with God.Convents, monasteries, ashrams and religious communes attract reclusive types who seek a safe haven.There are distinct differences between individuals in this category and spiritually committed people who seek solitude in religious or spiritual retreats.A period of seclusion and quietude helps many to become spiritually rejuvenated and enlightened.Those who occasionally retreat and turn inward return to their former commitments with renewed energy and psychospiritual awareness.Spiritual recluses, on the other hand, permanently withdraw from responsibility and obligation.By restricting their needs to a minimum, the spiritually secluded feel reassured that they will not be hurt or disappointed.This type is least able to manage sexual or hostile impulses and feels defenseless in social situations [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]