Guilt From Society & Religion

Guilt From Society

Guilt from society first begins at school when children are made to feel guilty by their teacher for doing something wrong.

Although this can be an effective method for controlling a child’s behaviour, it does not address the root cause of the problem and therefore has little long term benefit for the child.

A good example of this can be found in prison. When a criminal is sent to prison, they are given a set amount of time in which they are to be confined to a cell as punishment.

During this time the prisoner is meant to reflect upon the wrongs they have done (feel guilty), so that when they leave prison they will not commit the same act again.

However, anyone who has worked in a prison before will tell you that a large percentage of inmates are repeat offenders. They are released, but later come back after committing another crime.

So for these people, using guilt as punishment results in no long term beneficial changes on their behaviour. The main reason for this, is that the underlying cause of the problem was never addressed.

It would be far more effective for example to work on developing a person’s level of self esteem, and examining the environmental influences which caused them to turn to crime.

Feeling Guilty For Trying To “Fit In”

Later in life, guilt from society comes from the people who you associate with on a daily basis. Usually these people are your friends.

For example, many teenagers participate in activities which they would not normally do. However, because of their desire to “fit in” with the crowd, they do what their friends do.

If their actions conflict with what they regard as being “good” or “bad”, they will experience guilt as a result.

Constantly experiencing guilt can adversely affect a person’s life, and cause you to constantly worry about what other people think of you.

This can then lead to a lack of self acceptance and a repression of your true self, by constantly conforming to those around you.

Religious Guilt

Regardless of what religion you may follow, all religions have a certain moral code you are supposed to live by.

If you do not adhere to these morals, you are automatically labelled as a sinner who should feel guilty for what you have done.

The trouble with this is that I don’t see all sin as being bad, and neither do I agree with being told what I should or shouldn’t experience in life.

I know from past experience that the best way to grow and develop as a person, is to learn from the mistakes you make in your life.

However religion tells me that when I do something that is not within its moral code, I am a bad person, I have sinned and should feel guilty about it. But how does this help me to grow and develop as a person?

Feeling guilty about something only keeps you focused in the past, and while it may result in short term behavioural changes, it rarely has any long term benefical effects.

Guilt does not explain to me why I may have done something, nor does it teach me lessons from that experience.

For example, the reason I may have engaged in a “sinful activity” was because at the time my current level of awareness (my current beliefs and values) lead me to believe that it was something good, or something I was curious about. So I did it.

Should I now feel guilty about this because I have done something religion has told me I should not do? Or should I have the freedom to act upon my own thoughts, and learn through experience what life has to offer?

I am certainly not suggesting that you ignore everything your religion teaches you, but the point I am making is that when you limit what you do, or allow others to limit you, you limit what you experience in your life, which then limits how much you develop as a person.

So use religion to guide you, but make up your own mind about things and don’t feel guilty for wanting to express your true self.

Instead, learn from your past experiences, and you will find you will grow into a much more confident and self accepting individual.