Tyrants using religion
Religion
Tyrants
[Authoritarian leaders and Double Highs (Psychopathy) use religion to hook their followers, and it is easy given the psychology of Authoritarian followers, many of whom are highly religious. 'Religious' doesn't equate with spirituality as you can see in Stages of spiritual growth. If it did they wouldn't be so easily fooled by the Pathocracy/Authoritarians.]
Quotes
Double Highs, however, have a big head start over ordinary social dominators
in politics, because they are the consumate leaders of a readily-formed army of
zealots longing for a great warrior. Ordinary authoritarian followers....tend
to be highly religious (in a fundamentalist way), and their highly ethnocentric
minds probably evaluate people on religious grounds more than any other.
Ordinary social dominators, who have little religious background or impulse,
will have to fake being super-religious to get these followers' support. They
might succeed if they are good actors and clever, especially since RWAs throw
the door open to whoever tells them their beliefs are right.
But a Double High has the best chance of attracting this army
of yearning and loyal supporters. He comes packaged as "one of our own," one of
the in-group. He not only shares their prejudices, their economic philosophy,
and their political leanings, he also professes their religious views, and that
can mean everything to high RWAs. He too may be faking his religiousness to some
extent, but he will have the credentials up front, and the phrase-dropping
familiarity with the Bible to pass the test with flying colors. He'll know the
code words of the movement. He'll appear to believe everything "all the good
people" believe about Satan, being born again, evolution, the role of women,
sex, abortion, school prayer, law and order, "perverts," censorship, zealotry,
holy wars, America-as-God's-right-hand, and so on. Given this head start. you
can expect to find a Double High leading most of the right-wing authoritarian
groups in our country. p.181
[2006] The Authoritarians” by Bob Altemeyer
"The National Government will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and cooperation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built. It regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life." Adolph Hitler, My New World Order, Proclamation to the German Nation at Berlin, February 1, 1933
“Tom Delay’s Double High authoritarian personality offers an almost textbook example of the four defining elements of a social dominator: the tendency to dominate; opposition to equality; desire for personal power; and amorality. … Delay, in a pattern followed by many Double High authoritarians, became a born-again Christian in 1984.” Conservatives Without Conscience by John Dean
Every dictator uses religion as a prop to keep himself in power. - Benazir Bhutto, in a CBS television interview
[Think G Bush] Bob Dylan "With God On Our Side", 1963
God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith, deep and unshakeable faith, that he was sent to us by God to save Germany. ----Hermann Goering, speaking of Hitler
A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side.----Aristotle