Authoritarianism has always bothered me because it uses and abuses people. It destroys human freedom to think, act, and live. It manipulates people and often destroys the “undesirables.” The historical Jesus stressed that human greatness is based on compassion and service. His authority was used only to motivate and guide people, and to heal, support, and call to conversion.

Today, authoritarianism is a dangerous virus. “Leaders” who should be trusted for trustworthiness, intelligence, and humanitarian service are becoming hard-nosed autocrats, surrendering to the psychological and mental disorder of authoritarianism. Honesty and integrity are being replaced by self-promoting deceit and dishonesty.

Historically, authoritarian leaders, in church and in civil society, have always found religion a wonderful convenience, which they misused and manipulated to their advantage. Some even published and promoted their own editions of the Bible. Their misuse of religion enabled them to lord it over other people and allowed them to punish their “enemies” guilt-free.

Distorted religion enables authoritarian leaders to bully and denigrate certain groups, like immigrants and LGBTQ people. Values like love, mercy, and compassion disappear. There are only two authoritarian values: faithfulness and obedience to the authoritarian leader.

Right now, I am thinking about three classic historical examples: (1) The atheist and anti-clerical Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) needed backing by the Vatican to promote his National Fascist Party. He therefore married in the Catholic church and had his children baptized. (2) Spain’s Generalissimo Franco (1892-1975) became a cruel and murderous dictator. Although Franco himself was known for not being very devout, he portrayed himself as a fervent Catholic and used religion to increase his power. He used his Guerrilleros de Christo Rey (the Warriors of Christ the King) to implement his policy of torture and executions. (3) And of course, the story of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945). Hitler ceased being a Catholic when a teenager, but Hitler and his Nazi party promoted their brand of “Positive Christianity.” He described Jesus as an “Aryan fighter” who struggled against the corrupt Pharisees. Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945), Hitler’s Reich Minister of Propaganda and one of his closest and most devoted associates, wrote in April 1941 that although Hitler was “a fierce opponent” of the Vatican and Christianity, “he forbids me to leave the church, for tactical reasons.”

 

The rise of authoritarianism is a problem around the world. Here are the major symptoms:

1. Ongoing efforts to misuse the media. The distinction between information and misinformation disappears. AI-generated photos and videos are presented as honest information.

2.For authoritarians, truth is called “fake news” while what is actually fake news is announced as real news. As George Orwell (1903-1950) predicted years ago: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”

3. Authoritarians impose police surveillance and violence against ideological “enemies”and say they as necessary for public safety.

4. “Immigrants” are arrested. Their families are torn apart, and even their children are incarcerated without explanation. The extreme development of this is genocide.

5. White supremacism, sexism, homophobia, and far-right extremism are not criticized but strongly promoted.

Authoritarian “leaders” can only succeed because because authoritarian followers applaud and support them. Much more so than the average person, authoritarian followers go through life with impaired thinking. Their reasoning is often sloppy and based on prejudiced beliefs and a fierce dogmatism, that rejects evidence and logic. These cognitive defects in authoritarian followers enable them to follow any would-be dictator. As Hitler reportedly said, “What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.”

So, what does one do?

Well, we must first of all acknowledge that authoritarian followers are extremely resistant to change. The more one learns about authoritarianism, the more one realizes how difficult it will be to reach people who are so ferociously aggressive and fiercely defensive. Polarization is now extreme and deeply rooted.

We need to educate and promote, starting at home, a balanced education which is: handing on authentic information, teaching people where to find correct information, and giving people the skills to be well-informed critical thinkers.

Our Christian communities, more than ever, must become, in the Spirit of Christ, compassionate and supportive gatherings of multicultural, multi-ethnic, and all-gender, brothers and sisters.

We need to courageously speak out. And we need to help other people courageously speak out. If something is wrong or not true, people need to strongly and clearly state that it is wrong or untrue. Those who courageously speak out need the strong support of friends gathered around them. Going alone is increasingly difficult if not impossible in our cyber-linked world.

We need to be on guard, as well, that we do not become promoters of polarization and vicious partisanship. We need to learn how to work together for the common good, as Jesus says in Matthew 12:25: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”