Religious Leaders

It is dangerous to turn your will over to someone else. If you are expected to follow with unquestioning obedience, beware. On the other hand, if the teacher has something to share and leaves it up to you to take it or leave it, then investigate for yourself and make your own choice.

What do religious leaders have that the rest of us don't have? In established religions it may just be a matter of training. They have gone to some special school that trains religious leaders. They know about the sacred texts and practices and about religious education, giving sermons, and counseling. They may be trained in meditation and can teach others how to meditate. They may provide a range of services as the leader of a religious community and are supported in return by the donations of the members. Or they may give classes in exchange for fees. This all seems fine. If you want the service, you pay for it and you help subsidize those who can't pay as much.

This is an exchange among equals, as when you hire a doctor or a psychotherapist. They have specialized knowledge, so they can provide a service. They do not have an authority over you. They are there to advice and help you.

But often religious leaders claim authority. What can the basis of this authority be? As religious leaders you would hope that they are especially serious about practicing the religion, so they can claim some moral authority, or the authority of example. They may have some administrative authority in the sense that they can make decisions about the administration of the resources of the community.

But we are really talking about something more. Do they have the authority to tell you what to do and believe? They can tell you what the religion teaches, or at least their interpretation. This gets to the crux of the issue. Some religious leaders are given authority to interpret what the religion really teaches and how it should be applied. If you are a member of that religion, do you give over your will to the authority of the teachings and to the official interpreters?

A more social interpretation is that when you join any group there are formal and informal agreements about what you will do and say. If you do not follow the agreements there could be sanctions, such as expulsion from the community. This may be fine if you know what you are getting into and you can leave if you no longer want to hold to that agreement.

The problem comes when arbitrary authority is given to a religious leader and there are pressures to prevent you leaving. In extreme cases, your life may be in danger if you oppose the teachings or the leader. This is the sort of situation you want to be very careful about.

But do different rules apply when a religion is in the process of being founded? The founder of the religion is still alive and is actively creating and forming the religion. This founder is the source of the teachings. These teachings may be coming from profound revelation experiences. And the personal charisma of the leader can be overwhelming. This is a fairly rare situation, but what authority does the founder have in this case? Since they are creating the religion, it seems only fair that they will have the creative copyright. Even in this highly charged situation, however, you have the right to your individual choice. You have to understand that the situation is fluid and that what you originally thought you were getting into may change, but you still must maintain the right to withdraw if things change too much. It is dangerous to give over your will to the leader because how do you know what is really going on?

So religious leaders are very important. They may be creating the religion or they may be particularly knowledgeable about it, so they deserve some respect and some social authority. However, you always need to keep some distance. You are still your own person, and you must think for yourself and evaluate what is happening.

But shouldn't there be some trust? These are sometimes saints we are talking about. Can't saints be trusted to not do you any harm? Well, one person's saint is another person's mad extremist. The central rule of negotiation seems applicable: trust but verify.