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Krakauers work follows the parallel histories of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the double murder committed by Mormon fundamentalists. The text examines particular religious and historical themes while additionally relating them to the mentioned crimes of Ron and Dan Lafferty. Through this exploration, the author notes the destructive and violent nature of the faith, linking back to its complex origin. Moreover, the concepts of polygamy and extreme belief systems in the context of the story aid in emphasizing the corruptive nature of the Mormon religion. At the same time, the author reiterates the negative aspects of extremism expressed in any religion, independent of its basic values. In that way, Krakauers thesis demonstrates a positive correlation between ones state of dependence on pure religious rationalization and a lack of moral principles.
First of all, the principle of any faith being corruptive is based on the idea of the Mormon religion is demoralizing. To demonstrate this point, Krakauer describes the murder of Brenda Lafferty and her daughter Erica, committed by the older brothers of the womans husband. While eventually being charged for the committed criminal act, the brothers expressed minimal remorse or regret for the killings. Moreover, one of the murderers had a handwritten revelation which told him to commit this crime (Krakauer, 2004, p.6). The formal explanation presented by the men is evidently linked to their faith, as they received a message from God. Hence, Mormonism was used as a justification to act both immorally and illegally, which negatively affected the perception of the religion as a whole. Additionally, the faith leads to a universally nonaccepted ethical decision-making as well as social isolation, as the brothers demonstrated by their lack of emotional attachment to the consequences of the murder.
Furthermore, the malicious nature of the faith is exemplified through the discussion of its origin. Joseph Smith, the Latter Day Saint movement founder, was believed to have played a vital role in Gods plan for mankind (Krakauer, 2004, p.29). Essentially, the history of the first groups led by the founder and prophet was mostly linked to acts of violence and various forms of protests. Indeed, followers of other religions disregarded Mormonism and the principal values of the faith, including polygamy and revelations with God. The critical role of the prophet is to obey church authorities, receive the testimony of Jesus, and in that way, Smith eventually would achieve top leadership positions while still causing outrage nationally (Mueller, 2015, para.11). As isolated groups of Mormons experienced national persecution, this led to only more violence from their side. Essentially, Krakauer explains the brutality and abuse as a consequence of Mormon oppression rather than a rooted principle in their belief system. Still, the possible cause of the religions negative aspects does not justify its followers immoral acts and consequences.
Extreme Mormonism is the next point that explains how faith can corrupt a person if treated inappropriately. For example, the author emphasizes a dark side to religious devotion that is too often ignored or denied, in reference to the general perception of Mormonism as a passive and stereotypically less violent religion. In turn, critical analysis of the history of this particular faith illustrates the opposite, as demonstrated by the case of the Lafferty brothers. Besides justifying criminal acts from the perspective of Mormon killers, extreme Mormonism can also affect other normal processes of daily social life, as well as ones perception of polygamy. Hence, religious corruption spreads to both the mind and the social stance of the zealot.
Ultimately, the discussion of the detrimental effects of Mormonism and its extreme methods of both expression and support leads to the consideration of religion in general. As the author notes, &there may be no more potent force than religion in the context of motivating people to do evil or commit unlawful crimes (Krakauer, 2004, p.22). While the work is centrally dedicated to Mormonism, the explored ideas can be related to any religion that abuses ones freedom of choice and causes immoral actions. Although some religious communities propagate unlimited happiness in the case of full commitment to its system of regulations, cults and other similar organizations severely limit ones rights. Furthermore, the history of Mormonism accentuated the complex relationship between the fundamental principles of faith and the social attitude towards its main methods.
Although the demonstrated ideas highlight the corruptive nature of extreme absolute faith, it is essential to suggest bias and question the credibility of the author. While the case of the Lafferty brothers may seem relevant to the discussion of Mormonism approaches, it significantly generalizes several particular cases to a whole growing religion. Moreover, Krakauers perspective is minimally dedicated to the review of various perspectives and is instead mostly focused on the illustration of one negative aspect of the faith. In terms of a fair discussion, it is unjust to refer to only one point of view on such complex issues as religion. Therefore, the credibility of the text would be significantly improved if more explanations were offered to explain the unproblematic aspects of Mormonism. Additionally, this review would offer a more specified reason as to why religion is as fast-growing as it is nowadays.
In conclusion, Krakauers thesis on the corruptive nature of faith and its absolute expressions is clearly explored in the text. The author provides multiple examples of Mormon values and the violence of Fundamental Mormons. While the Lafferty case highlights the consequences of complete commitment to absolute faith, the history of Mormonism accentuates the role of external social factors in accepting a system of beliefs. Moreover, the violence of Mormon Fundamentalists can be traced to the cases of polygamy, in which the faith supporters would punish their victims for not accepting the principles of the religion. Ultimately, this review leads to the revaluation of extreme religion in general, not necessarily related to the particular faith described in the text. At the same time, more perspectives must be included in the analysis to provide a fair discussion of such a complex question. In that way, future emphasis should be placed on exploring the specific ways religious organizations become corruptive and violent.
References
Krakauer, J. (2004). Under the banner of heaven: A story of violent faith. Anchor.
Mueller, M. P. (2015). Mormonism and the problem of Jon Krakauer. Religion & Politics. Web.
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