Doing Good, Being Good

 

Why do institutions of religious systems appeal to folks wanting cover for their misdeeds?

Why do thieves and predators so often profess belief in divine goodness and morality? Is it just hypocrisy? If so, you don't need to be in a church to be a hypocrite, you just need to say one thing and do the opposite. Why get God involved?

The answer is no doubt quite complex, pulling from the behavioral and social sciences, lots of variables, and there probably isn't one answer that fits all cases. But I think one thing might tie most cases together -- society's assumptions about "people of faith."

Having belonged to more than my share of churches over the years and across the spectrum, I think inquiries could start with the buildings.

Domes, steeples, statuary and emblems of faith in wood, stone, glass and steel show affiliation, but they are also indicators that "good things" are going on inside God's house.

Sanctuary codes come to mind. For centuries, wrong-doers were protected from arrest if they made it to the altar. Lawmen would not pursue them for fear of their own eternal damnation. (This thinking was more common before the era of separation of church and state but might be resurrected in this new age.)

Today's thieves and sex offenders aren't seeking sanctuary from the police and solicitors, but I do think they believe agents of the law don't question church-going people (especially clerics) because a person who draws close to the Creator can't do bad things at the same time. (This might be the primitive thinking behind hanging the Ten Commandments in schools.) Some might also be thinking that miscreants who hide behind God won't escape Final Judgment.

Believers themselves show markers in their clothing, speech and behavior and recognize one another by them. This is that in-group and out-group thing we seem to be so fond of. And, people being people, in-group folk are not scrutinized because they are saying and doing the right things. Once thieves and predators have mastered the code -- the passwords and high signs -- they can get away with a lot.

And do.