Disadvantages Of Group Groups

Humans have an inherent desire to be a part of a group. Belonging to something greater than themselves activates a sense of being of more than just a person. The need to belong is a major source of human motivation. Humans need to participate in a group just as a group needs people to participate. In order to be in a group, the members are required to have the same ideas, interests, beliefs for a successful society. Religions create a common moral understanding for all participants to be able to coexist. Emile Durkheim and Jonathan Haidt theorize how religion operates as a society and the consequence of intergroup conflict. To maintain a unified group, individuals must lose their self reasoning and work only for the benefit of the group which leads to decisions that an individual would not make. Durkheim explains how religious beliefs and practices function to foster societies. Although the idea of a society is solely inside the individual’s mind, there’s a …show more content…
Intergroup conflicts can be known as gang rivalries, racism, and terrorist groups. When intergroup conflicts become a threat to the society, there needs to be action or adaptation to combat them. These actions don’t always agree with the individual’s interests, but are necessary to defend the group. Group members follow the guidance of their god, or authoritative figure, to manage the conflict. Just as the authority figure instructs the worshipper how to live, and watches over him, there is also some sort of punishment for going against the group. As a worshipper, “sometimes [s]he even feels dominated by a moral power that is larger than [s]he is, for which he is merely the interpreter” (Durkheim 158). Since the person feels subjected by the authoritative figure, they are willing to do anything to receive the god’s approval which can lead to rash moral