Fanaticism supposes unconditional adherence.
Fanaticism is the passion of a fanatic , a person who defends his beliefs or opinions with excessive tenacity. A fanatic is also one who is blindly enthusiastic or concerned about something .
Fanaticism involves unconditional adherence to a cause. The aforementioned blindness produced by infatuation leads the fanatic to behave, at times, in a violent and irrational manner. The fanatic is convinced that his idea is the best and the only valid one, so he disregards the opinions of others.
Characteristics of fanaticism
In this way, we could determine that fanaticism is supported or identified by five main signs of identity: the desire to impose one's own ideas, despising those who are different, being based on a series of ideas that are unquestionable, having a vision "squared" of things because everything is black or white, and finally the complete lack of any critical spirit.
The lack of rationality can reach such an extreme that, due to fanaticism, one person kills another. When fanaticism reaches political power, it usually develops an entire system for imposing its beliefs, punishing opponents with prison or even death.
Fanaticism is common in sports.
Different types
Fanaticism can occur in different aspects of life. There are fans of some football club ( "I'm a fan of Boca, I follow them everywhere" ) or of singers and musical groups ( "The fanaticism I feel for Luis Miguel led me to run away from school to go buy the concert tickets » ), for example.
Fanaticism also appears in religion , with people not only believing that their beliefs are the only valid ones, but also persecuting and punishing those who do not believe the same as them.
Risks of fanaticism
Among the various types of existing fanaticism, it must be emphasized that religious fanaticism is the one that has caused the most damage throughout the history of humanity since it has given rise to countless wars, holocausts and even terrorist acts and murders.
As perfect examples of that religious horror that has only brought death and destruction, the creation of the Holy Inquisition during the Middle Ages deserves to be highlighted. This was an institution within the Catholic Church whose clear mission was to put an end to heresy and to do so it established courts throughout the world that were in charge of "judging" those who are considered witches, atheists or devil worshipers.
This aforementioned objective gave rise to the individuals who were in charge of the Holy Office to commit all types of injustices and accuse innocent people who died by being burned at the stake or who suffered all types of absolutely abominable torture.
Likewise, another type of religious fanaticism is currently experienced within the Islamic religion. In this way, there are groups that commit all kinds of criminal acts against those who do not believe or think like them. A perfect example of the actions of these groups are the attacks that took place in the United States on September 11, 2001.
The view of psychology
Psychology affirms that fanaticism arises from the need for security experienced by people who, precisely, are insecure.
It is, therefore, a kind of compensation for a feeling of inferiority.