Self-Deception in Religion

Introduction

Self-deception has existed from the beginning of time and if you are religious, from the beginning of religion. It is a constant cycle that affects us all whether we realize it or not. Numerous studies have been done trying to discover the causes and effects of self-deception, the situations that make someone think they have to self-deceive, why deception even exists, etc. While there may never be one particular answer for any of these questions, I argue that we will never fully understand self-deception in other or as a topic itself, until we truly understand how and why we ourselves use self-deception.

Some people self-deceive more than others and for different reasons than others, but regardless of the amount of deception or reasons for deceptions, we all deceive ourselves in way or another. While there are many different situations and circumstances that could be focused on, I chose to specifically focus on self-deception as it pertains to religion. Obviously, there will be a focus on how self-deception pertains to oneself, for how could we study self-deception without the focus of self.

I will first review a few studies and articles that have already been done concerning this topic and then continue to summarize and explain how my observations or experiences compare to those found in the studies and articles. As we examine the findings in these studies and in my own observations I believe we will find that the reasons for self-deception will always vary, but also that in order to completely understand self-deception we must first recognize its existence in our own lives. As we figure out why we will deceive ourselves, we will discover why others do the same, and why religion may or may not play a sma...

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...sed but we can find these answers as we ask ourselves why we deceive ourselves. Is it because we have a low self-esteem? We want to be deceptive? To get ahead? The answers to these question will help us understand why we self-deceive which will then help us realize why others do it as well.

In religion particularly deception often exists when someone feels like they have to defend themselves against judgment. This judgment may be from the congregation or from them themselves. When people feel they are on the defense they usually deny the problem or rationalize why it isn’t a problem, which causes them to convince themselves that there isn’t a problem or that the problem is not that bad. As we look at our own lives and the lives and circumstances around us, we clearly see why self-deception exists and how easy it is to participate in self-deception ourselves.