Clerics’ Psychological Methods of Responding

When clerics of different religions have no answer in mind and know that the person asking the question will not be convinced, they may turn to methods that any of us might use when our fallacies have failed. In the case of clerics, however, some of these methods take on a more specifically religious form because of the nature of religion itself.

In these methods, the person asking the question is usually no longer the main target. The real target is the people who are watching or listening to the discussion. The cleric wants to prevent their faith from being shaken. At the same time, protecting his own reputation and authority may also be important to him.

Let us look at some common methods.