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Changing Someone's Ideology?

Posted on 9th July 2014

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This video clip on MRC TV got me thinking.

The Muslim lady who got the panellist so fired up asked (paraphrasing) why nothing was being done in an ideological sense to combat Islamic terrorism, given that the root cause is ideology. The important question is, can anything be done to change radical ideology (of any kind, not just of Muslims)? Does history contain any successful examples of non-violent means to change people's ideology?

If we look at government policies towards immigrant in Britain & France, there is a distinct difference: Britain's approach has always been based on pluralism and tolerance (you can live how you want as long as it doesn't impact other people - no deliberate attempt to change ideology); France believes in integration (if you want to live in France, you need to live in the French way). Given recent protests and violence, it is clear that neither approach works. In both countries there are examples of children of non-radical immigrant parents becoming radicalised and engaging in terrorism. Neither social pressure and legislation to conform in an ideological sense (the French approach), nor ideological change by immersion and osmosis (the British approach) seem to be achieving the change of heart that was expected.

If we look further back, we can compare the introduction of Christianity in Africa to that in South & Central America. In Africa it was done with missionaries: there was lots of violence, but mostly not for the purpose of changing hearts and minds (more for the purpose of introducing the rule of law, to create a suitable environment for business), and it didn't really work (politics in Africa is mostly still tribal, and there is lots of corruption, violence and terrorism). In the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of South & Central America the task was achieved with a great deal of violence, but it seemed to work, at least to some extent (there are still problems, but mainly not due to ideology).

When the Moors were driven out of Europe, Christianity was reintroduced. This was not a hard-sell, as the Europeans were allowed and encouraged to practice the religion that had been suppressed with violence under the Moors.

Communism in China is another example of failure to change hearts and minds. Despite living under a communist system, most Chinese people are at heart capitalists (and Confucians, I would argue) - indeed they may well be the best capitalists in the world. As communism is slowly being eroded away, they are able to follow their hearts again, despite years of often quite violent religious and ideological suppression.

The Balkans gives us another dramatic lesson. They were melded into a artificial communist nation by violence. Once the iron curtain collapsed, they reverted to their true natures, and shocked the world by how different the various religious and ethic groups were and how much they hated each other.

Finally, think about Ireland. Despite what many people think, the troubles are nothing to do with religion. About 2,500 years ago, the Gaels arrived in Ireland. Despite sharing a religion (Celtic paganism) with the existing inhabitants of Ireland, they had a different ideology. These differences persist today, despite Christianity having replaced paganism, and there is still tension and violence to this day. Neither war nor peaceful means (both have been tried) have bridged the ideological divide.

So, history doesn't give us much reason for hope. Non-violent approaches to changing people's ideology don't seem to work, and even violence doesn't always succeed (if any reader has some counter examples from history, please share them). Sometimes people appear to change, as in China and the Balkans, but still the old ideologies and religions persist through generations. Paganism was never really stamped out in Europe, despite some very violent suppression: it went under cover inside the Christian church (there are lots of elements of paganism which have been absorbed into Christianity).

The core problem is that people are very adaptable, and can hold on to their core beliefs under very tough conditions, for an extremely long time. It seems to be that civilisation is only ever painted over the top, and once the need to conform is removed, people revert.