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.