Explaining religious fanaticism?

It can be obsessive for some people. Consider how many drug addicts or sex addicts or alcoholics find religion and become people of faith, and then they make that the object of their compulsion.

For some people it does fulfill a deep, personal need.

And like any other good thing in life, you have to keep it in balance with everything else, or it can become a bad thing.

Personally I am very religious (Wiccan). It's an important part of my day, my life. Some people need a therapist, some need meds, I need my religious practices to get me through stuff. I wake up, I do my devotionals, I meditate, I pray a lot in the course of the day... all this helps keep me balanced and mentally disciplined and helps me express my spirituality that I have a strong need to express.

I also practice Witchcraft; but Witchcraft in my beliefs is rooted in nature & psychology. It's not hocus-pocus. It's more like self-programming myself to work towards goals I want to accomplish. And again, it's something that gets me through, because it helps me focus on my goals.

My faith doesn't consume my life... it's not like I ignore my kids, work, proselytize on street corners, donate all my money or endanger my health. When I go to my family gatherings, or out with friends, it's not the topic of conversation (unless someone else brings it up, then I'll happily engage).

But some people need to get out and go to a bar at the end of the week and have a few drinks and blow off steam dancing. And some people need to unwind at the end of the day with a beer and tv or video games. And some people need a hobby to pour all their excitement into.

And for some people, this outlet and coping aid is religion.

I am Christian and a fundamentalist. I guess some call that fanaticism, ok by me. I believe some have been called by God. My parents are atheist, and my 3 siblings are not at all religious. I don't believe there is anything wrong with me psychologically, I don't seem to have any outward symptoms, unless belief in God is madness.

Myself, I can't say I had any family or peer influence in my beliefs, so I don't know where it came from. I am not obsessive about anything, so I wouldn't think it's fair to call myself that. Maybe some things just ring so true to us, that it is worth living or dying for, others, not so much. I hope I helped in some way.

I don't understand what your sister is doing that is so "severe". All you say is she goes to meetings. That a very common thing for religious people to do.

Describing yourself as a witch is *not* a psychological problem. There are lots and lots of perfectly sane people who consider themselves witches. Now, if she thinks witches can fly or shoot fireballs, THEN you have a problem.

As for your brother, Christianity is an evangelical religion. Spreading the message is a major facet of it. So depending on how aggressive your brother is about inviting people to share in his beliefs, I don't see that as particularly severe either. If he's found a real calling in Christianity, he also may just be very happy to his found his religious calling and wants to share it.

Neither of them are being fanatics, and you should probably stop using that word. It'll offend them. People who kill in the name of religion are fanatics. People whose entire lives become controlled by religion might be described as fanatical. What your siblings are doing is not fanatical.

The customary Christians knew the change among God and the Lord. Page considered one of Genesis has 2 creations. The first one through God wherein the universe and stars and planets and so forth have been created. Pretty a lot sounds just like the large bang. The moment production is through the Lord who creates the "global". Not to be burdened with the planet. The global is the society of guys all of us are living in. They additionally mentioned that God is loving and forgiving while the lord is jealous (of who?) and vengeful. To any emotionally mature grownup those are seen opposites. Which is why the primary Christians known as the lord "Satan".

Part obsessive personality, part passion, part rebellion and sometimes messed up childhoods make people like this (when they feel they weren't loved or accepted by their families or friends, they feel that they need to join a brotherhood/sisterhood for attention and acceptance. This is where cults draw their most devoted members)

Rebellion against the parents is a pretty big part of it too, younger people very often find some way to rebel against their parents whether it's in big ways or little ones.

I can't prove this to you, but this is what I believe, as I've done a good bit of thinking on fundamentalism versus a more liberal approach to religion. I believe that people who are either 1) not particularly intelligent or 2) not especially creative or 3) lacking in confidence or 4) all of the above are the ones who are most likely to become fanatics/fundamentalists. An independent thinker will eventually reach the point where he/she can decide on his/her own limitations and boundaries of "good" behavior, without having to rely on lots of rules and rote, which is what fanaticism ultimately is. A more dependent or less-intelligent person, or one who lacks confidence in his/her own judgement, is going to be much more comfortable with having some other authority figure and/or organization deciding what is "good" and what is "bad," and thus is more inclined to gravitate toward literalism and fundamentalism in their beliefs, regardless of what SET of beliefs they choose.

They are trying to find a purpose to their lives.