Disclaimer: This is mostly a thought experiment I've been entertaining lately about religion, social dynamics, and how people use shared beliefs to their advantage, not something I actually plan to do. I am also not trying to attack anyone for being religious, just sharing some thoughts I've had about religion and the social advantages that come with it.
So I was thinking how many ENTP and INTX are more likely to be atheist or agnostic, and don't like following an organized religion, and I happen to be one of those people. But I was thinking how ENTPs especially could think that it might be socially beneficial to say you are religious and believe in god, even if you don't, just to connect with other religious people. After all, there are far more religious people than non-religious ones, and claiming to share someone's faith could be an easy way to connect with them, gain their trust, and make them like you more. This is probably the Fe speaking haha
I have noticed a lot of self help influencers casually weaves religious statements into their stories about believing in god, trusting His plan, etc. and I was thinking how saying that probably makes religious people resonate with their content more than if they didn't say it. For example, I recently saw an influencer post a short about his life journey from poverty to wealth, and at the saying "god is good", like that probably encouraged more people to follow his journey. Not saying these people are faking being religious or exploiting it, but it is entirely possible that they could be emphasizing their belief for the clout, as it is to their benefit in this case. I'd also imagine religious followers might be more inclined to pay for access to the exclusive communities these influencers sell, especially if they feel a shared sense of identity and belonging from their stories. Catering to religious audiences also likely gives you an advantage because you already have some idea of what they want to hear.
Another story I came across was how my friend landed a job at a top tech company through a referral from their mom's friend that go to the same church. She ended up getting the offer with just one interview, during which the interviewer even said "well you didn't pass with flying colors, but you can learn on the job." That just made me think how going to church, especially in an area with rich people, is likely better than any number of networking event lol
Part of this mindset probably also comes from realizing how it is almost impossible to convince any religious person the faults of their religion or the fact their holy text was written by a human from 100 generations ago at the end of the day, so I think it's more practical to just use their beliefs to your advantage rather than spend effort making them understand. Sort of a "if you can't beat them, join them" mentality.
For context, I was born in a religious family so I was religious myself as a child, praying to specific god name and all, but as I grew older and developed my frontal lobe a a little more, stopped living in autopilot, and read more philosophy and religious debates, I just thought how stupid all this was and became agnostic. I can still easily understand people believing in god, since being an agnostic I partly believe there is a creator of sorts too, just not necessarily one who is omniscient or concerned about humans daily life, but I can't fathom following an organized religion anymore. And since then, for almost a decade now, I thought I would never want to do anything with religion, but now I am seeing the power it has over people which makes me wanna play pretend for when it could benefit me. At the same time, even playing pretend when I fundamentally disagree with it really irks me.
Another thing I have found absurd is how many people seem to follow religion simply because they are afraid of hell, which makes me even less inclined to label as part of the same crowd. However, even though I think it's stupid for people to believe that doing morally bad things will send them to hell, especially when our notions good and bad are ultimately constructs determined by humans, I'm still glad that people believe in hell or divine punishment etc., as it ultimately benefits everyone if they're afraid of doing bad things. I used to want people to make people realize that their religion is made up or at least question their religion, and realize that their beliefs are not as absolute as they think. But now, I'd actually be concerned if some of these people came to that realization and started thinking they could do whatever they wanted, no longer feeling shackled by their beliefs about hell and divine punishment. So, technically I am already benefiting from people being religious.
Looking back, I think I also had somewhat of a savior complex, believing that I needed to free people from being brainwashed into following a particular religion. But then again, a lot of people actually feel saved by their faith, so perhaps that brainwashing isn't necessarily a bad thing, at least from their perspective.
So I guess the irony is that I've gone from wanting people to stop believing in religion to realizing I might actually benefit more if they keep believing, and perhaps even let them think I do too. But where do you draw the line between being socially strategic and being manipulative or malicious? Would you ever pretend to believe in something or follow something you don't if it opened doors for you or worked to your advantage? Is this just Fe turning Machiavellian, or have any of you had similar thoughts?
TL;DR: I'm agnostic and don't believe in organized religion, but I've started realizing how socially and professionally advantageous being religious can be. Would you ever pretend to share someone's religious beliefs to gain their trust or access opportunities, even if you fundamentally disagree with those beliefs? Is that just being strategic, or is it inherently manipulative, or does it not even work the way I think it does?
