The universal turning point of conversion

The universal turning point of conversion

As Indonesian Moslems observe the holy month of Ramadhan,
Ignas Kleden looks at fasting from a sociological point of view.

JAKARTA (JP): In sociological terms, the word "conversion"
means avoiding socially unacceptable behavior. Conversion is
important for two reasons. First, because it is universal among
human beings as it helps them cope with error and fallibility.
Second, it is an act of self-reflection, which only human beings
are capable of.

Conversion, put simply, is a turning point. But it must not,
so phenomenological analysis goes, take place all of a sudden.
There is a process which leads to, or fails to lead to, the
turning point. Ideally, the process occurs on three related
levels, which can be experienced at once if the conversion is
successful or separately if the conversion fails.

After committing an act such as murder, lying, theft, or rape,
someone who is still able to preserve his or her conscience is
usually overcome by internal disharmony or confusion. This
confusion can originate in guilt or shame for having done
something which is forbidden by the norms one believes in,
something which is detrimental to someone else, or something
which contradicts one's own dignity.

The first level is basically psychological. One experiences a
loss of personal balance and the disturbance of one's psychic
equilibrium, whereby the old equanimity becomes shaky. The moment
can be overcome by means of psychological treatment. But one can
restore one's internal balance without making a decision not to
repeat the old mistakes. With respect to the dimension of time,
this moment refers to the unhappy present.

At the second level, one looks at one's past with desperation
and a hopeful feeling that what has just happened should have not
taken place at all. This is a desperate act because hope can only
be oriented to the future. However, this is what occurs at the
moment of remorse. In everyday life, most of our apologies are
limited to our feeling sorry about something we wish had not
happened. But this does not imply a new determination to not
commit the same mistake in the future. This moment is cultural in
nature and allows one to regain one's security, if one's partner
accepts the apology. Remorse resembles an act of deploring the
unwanted past, but does not necessarily determine future
behavior.

Conversion is the highest level in this process, whereby one
makes a conscious decision to shape one's life anew. Feelings
about the unhappy present and the unwanted past can only bear
fruit if they lead to a decision concerning the future. This
moment transcends all psychological, cultural and social
conditions. At that very moment one becomes himself or herself.
Decisions are made regardless of psychological tendencies,
cultural habits or social environment. The conversion one makes
is a personal act which, though related to one's culture and
society, can go beyond cultural and social norms.

Fasting is a necessary condition for conversion. It is an act
by which human beings can detach themselves from everyday life
practices, which have their roots in the past and the present. In
semiotic terms, fasting is an act whereby one is defamiliarized
with everyday practices. One becomes more conscious of them and
is thereby able to differentiate sense from nonsense, both of
which are part of everyday common sense.

One cannot escape or ignore one's psychological tendencies,
but a conscious detachment from psychological inclinations will
make one aware of the fact that human beings must not fall victim
to their psychological situations. Psychology, analogically
speaking, is like a piece of land which one can cultivate
according to one's own plan and purposes. We cannot escape the
land, but we are in the position to make the best or the worst of
it.

A conscious detachment from cultural values will help one
confront values and norms usually taken for granted. In that
critical moment, a detached stand will unveil two conditions
which are blurred in everyday life: whether something becomes
valuable because it is generally accepted or because it contains
real value. At this juncture of examination, the social sciences
are no longer of any help and one only has recourse to religious
meditation.

The writer is a sociologist based in Jakarta.