Cultivating Moral Courage

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times examines the challenge individuals face to "do the right thing " when part of a group that is engaged in a harmful activity. The article cites some infamous situations in which individuals have either participated in heinous acts as part of a group or have stood by and watched as some atrocity was committed. It also references the Milgram experiment in which volunteers administered what they believed to be electric shocks to others solely because they were told to do so by the study supervisor. In essence, the article's claim is that when faced with negative pressures from social groups, there is a greater tendency for people to do bad things.

The article goes on to share some thoughts on steps that might be taken to address this problem:

Training programs that involve role-playing can prepare people, including children, to protest against injustice even when others around them are acquiescing, Staub says. And individuals should know that being in a group doesn't excuse them from personal responsibility and accountability, says Philip G. Zimbardo, a Stanford University psychologist, in the 2004 collection of essays "The Social Psychology of Good and Evil." People should be discouraged from living on automatic pilot but should instead learn to reflect on the situation and think critically before acting, he writes. . . ."

"We have to learn to cultivate moral courage," Staub says. "Moral courage means to act according to your values, even in the face of potential harm to yourself, so your values will not be subverted."

It is interesting in this light to consider the nature and effect of study circles. The central aspect of these gatherings, which take place across the globe, is the study of the sacred texts of the Bahá'í Faith and discussion of how the principles contained therein apply to situations in our every day lives, promoting the reflection on and critical assessment of daily moral quandries called for in the above quotation. Moreover, beyond study and discussion, these gatherings systematically and explicitly promote acts of service to others. A similar process is at work in children's classes and junior youth activities throughout the Bahá'í community.

It would be illuminating to see some studies on the effect of positive social influence; more specifically, what is the outcome of being in groups that promote virtue, moral courage, and service to others? From the writings of Bahá'u'lláh it is evident that spending time in such an environment yields wondrous benefits:

. . . fellowship with the righteous cleanseth the rust from off the heart. He that seeketh to commune with God, let him betake himself to the companionship of His loved ones; and he that desireth to hearken unto the word of God, let him give ear to the words of His chosen ones.

. . .

Wouldst thou seek the grace of the Holy Spirit, enter into fellowship with the righteous, for he hath drunk the cup of eternal life at the hands of the immortal Cup-bearer and even as the true morn doth quicken and illumine the hearts of the dead.