Interestingly, the question is worded in such a way that hypocrisy in religion is assumed to exist. Fair enough!

I think the best way to deal with hypocrisy, in religion and in other contexts, is to point it out always. Over and over again. If we are made aware of our hypocritical thoughts and actions, consistently over time, I have to believe that we will wince when we're about to indulge in that thought or behavior.

Awareness is key. Only then will the uncomfortable feeling occur, at the appropriate time. So then the question is, how to achieve this level of awareness. I'm afraid, in many cases, it has to come from outside. If one listens only to like-minded people, chances are, the hyprocrisy won't be as evident.

I think Jesus Christ was supposed to have said that hypocrisy is the worst sin. But you know what? I'm not so sure! I think too much certainty is the worst sin, most emphatically so in matters of religion. Too much certainty, about facts that we simply do not know, and cannot know, leads to unspeakable sin. Time and time again.

Interestingly, the question is worded in such a way that hypocrisy in religion is assumed to exist. Fair enough!

I think the best way to deal with hypocrisy, in religion and in other contexts, is to point it out always. Over and over again. If we are made aware of our hypocritical thoughts and actions, consistently over time, I have to believe that we will wince when we're about to indulge in that thought or behavior.

Awareness is key. Only then will the uncomfortable feeling occur, at the appropriate time. So then the question is, how to achieve this level of awareness. I'm afraid, in many cases, it has to come from outside. If one listens only to like-minded people, chances are, the hyprocrisy won't be as evident.

I think Jesus Christ was supposed to have said that hypocrisy is the worst sin. But you know what? I'm not so sure! I think too much certainty is the worst sin, most emphatically so in matters of religion. Too much certainty, about facts that we simply do not know, and cannot know, leads to unspeakable sin. Time and time again.

Have spiritual strength to defend beliefs and Faith, regarding a Religion and not fear to file manifestation in different social groups. Also, accept that not everyone will agree with their beliefs and religion; they will have to be respected even if they are different from their convictions.

In summary, honesty and conviction

Hello,

As i think every one must be honest and faithful and a human with or without religion. all religions prevent hypocrisy , but the reason related to the person that adopted this religion.

Without a doubt, we have hurt our witness to the world with our hypocrisy, thereby undercutting our moral and spiritual authority. Why should people listen to us if we preach one thing and do another?

regards

The challenge is sorting out what is and what is not a hypocrisy.

Dennis

Dennis Mazur

Where does hypocrisy come into this? While many, but not all, religions encourage benevolence then claiming to be the follower of a religion with such apparently ethical tropes, and then practising malfeasance, is clearly perhaps hypocritical. But that assumes religions are benevolent-or that benevolence is their prime motivation.

Again Prof , I need to speak about my religion (Hinduism) we too have and had hypocrisy big time ! The only edge we have is we allow people to go out and form their own ideology and establish their faith . We accept diverse school of thoughts, we respect all gods and his followers and we are extremely tolerant ...

I agree with " personal spirituality " idea , we need to follow this , rather than having a herd mentality we need to accept nature is full of variety and we are no exception ...

All religions preach peace and love stripped of all forms of hypocrisy. The latter is a characteristic of the human and not of religions. It seems to me that the best way is to judge the acts and not to speak.

More emphasis may be given to encourage people to be honest than to follow rituals. Without knowing the actual meaning of rituals, many people follow them. These people all are hypocrite. I my country I know many so called religious people to earn money by adulterating poisonous chemicals with milk, meat, fish and also in baby food, medicines etc. Many are engaged in criminal activities. Those people are either not properly educated about the actual meaning of religion otherwise they all are the worst type of criminals.

Though they think themselves as very much religious.

Must follow the biography of the Prophet Muhammad in his dealings with the hypocrites where he dealt with the hypocrites wisely and rationally and work to reveal their truth to the Islamic public opinion at that time, the Prophet Muhammad had the skills to deal with various races of human beings hypocrites

Greetings

If a religion has a correct understanding of itself (how it is being meaningfully expressed/interpreted), it should ALSO tell you when you no longer need it. If it doesn't, it is already dishonest. In contrast, see: Buddhism **.

Even if you cannot 'see' "where you are" w/r to the behavior patterns, described and addressed, then it is dishonest. In contrast, see: Buddhism.

It is likely all would agree that dishonesty has a big relationship with hypocrisy, so not being dishonest may well be a major part of the answer.

[ NOTE: I subscribe to only the rational and realistic (or possibly/likely realistic) parts of Buddhism; this leaves a LOT left, especially if you are reasonably open-minded. You can see my comprehensive summary of all the words of the historical Buddha (framed as just described) at : https://mynichecomp.com . ]

** FOOTNOTE: "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."

Dear KIrk,

Religion has to be both personal (spirituality) and social (we are a social animal) which knows initially nothing and thus has to be enculturated by the social. I take religion to be mean religiere: what bond people together. There is no social without a social bond and this bond can’nt be reduced to money transactions.

Hypocrisy I would say it the ultimate social crime. It is the ultimate crime because all other social crimes stem from it. Hypocrisy is to lies, to pretend to be otherwise than we are truly is. It is conceiling the truth. Jesus said: ‘’ "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’’ Lying is opposed to truth, to life, to God and no one can get to God (life creation) being a lyer (life destroyer). Satan is the personification of the Lyer, the opponent to God. Being a hypocrite is being like Satan.

Why is it so toxic? Because humans bond need to be based on thrust, thrust that our words are truthfull. Lying is undermining this fundamental thrust and all social bonds and detroy everything starting with the lyer. There are many potential external rewards benefits from lying and thus manipulating other. It comes at the cost of destroying our own thrust into other. Each time one lye , each time the person undermine her thrust into oneself and other, destroying herself and other one lie at a time, emptying herself of humanity and of what in herself is providing life, the source of all life: God. Why is it so tempting to do so? The source is more social than personal. It is socially professed throw all forms of culture in all the main mode of mass communication that to succeed and to be happy one need to be known, celeb and to have money as if one happiness is given by others. If one get convinced of this massive relently media message than one start to focus on external rewards and forget the only true rewards, those that one provide to himself by being honest and truthfull no matter what. Being turn away from this by the focus on other perception of one self begin the process of lying and gradually hollowing out of one self into a total oblivion where no happiness can enter after having choosen death maskarade into the illusion of a happy life instead of life and the sacrifice that it demands.

I think there is no best way, if we are departing from a very general point of view, like you put it.

But there are several ways that can help. People have sent you some suggestions that can be useful: some are more "self-concerned", others are more "religion-concerned", and you will find some "social-concerned". All this can help. I think that hypocrisy has something to do with the relation between spirit and flesh, consistent projects and everyday common life, ideals and daily problems to solve, etc. I think that the film "Fiddler on the roof" has adressed this issue, among many other issues...

In other perspective, I think that not all religions have something to do with this issue or, at least, have different approaches to this problem. Therefore, religions could adress it in a more or less comprehensive way. In this perspective, your question needs an explicitation of the religion you want to focus on. It's different to adress it from the Christian Revelation, where you understand that the Word become flesh (and there is "something more" than the human life that can overcome hypocrisy), and from some gnostic point of view, for instance.

In my perspective, hypocrisy is a behavior that tells a lie. Conceit, deceit, and arrogance is an evil triad which I believe constitutes hypocrisy. Truth is the antidote to hypocrisy, particularly truth manifested or embodied.

Part of Friedrich Nietzsche's criticism of Western Christianity was that there was not enough stress on the acting out of Christ’s example (the embodiment and manifestation of the Logos or Truth) and too much justification on salvation by spoken assent.

Nietzsche was also of the opinion that if an idea did not incarnate inside of you and had transformed your perceptions and your actions, you were merely possessed by the idea, being only a spokesperson for the idea. You are merely a puppet of the idea. A prisoner. Not being yourself. His criticism of scholars fell along the same lines of how many were only a mirror in which every part of their body allowed to receive every piece of information one took on without reflecting or manifesting what they had learned. One may say that hypocrisy is not having made the idea an incorporated part of you and your life. Those who are not hypocrites are those who are not merely abstracted representations as if they are commodities.

The Bible defines hypocrisy along the same lines: "for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was" (James 1:24). The Bible posits Truth to be the antidote to hypocrisy: "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22).

A good example of truth manifested to destroy hypocrisy... Alexander Solzhenitsyn details in The Gulag Archipelago that the reason for the atrocities under communism was that he and many others had forfeited their relationship with the truth and allowed their society to degenerate into deceit and tyrannical catastrophe without mounting sufficient opposition. He decided while in the concentration camps to straighten himself out bit by bit which columnated the production of The Gulag Archipelago, the book which really demolished any moral credibility that the communist totalitarian systems had left. One man who was determined by good example, at least in part, to stop lying, produce a book which demolished the very system that had imprisoned him.