Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 60
60 and to whom such a religion was presented. The success of a religion under such circumstances is due to the working of that natural law, in obedience to which air rushes in from all direc- tions to fill a vacuum. Secondly, Revolt. People sometimes get disgusted with a reli- gion owing either to its involved doctrines, its unreasonable severity, the oppression of the priests, or its being a hindrance in the path of their temporal or intellectual advancement, and desire to exchange it for some other religion which would secure them against oppression and permit them to pursue the paths of progress unmolested and unhindered. At such a time new reli- gion has a great chance of being accepted as was the case with Christianity and Buddhism. Thirdly, Echoing the Current Thoughts. When new ideas and new ways become current among a people which are not sanc- tioned by the religion or towards which the priests of that reli- gion take up an unsympathetic attitude, then even though there is no oppression or persecution, the thought that they are acting against the dictates of their religion makes people uneasy. If at such a time the new ideas or new ways which the people have already adopted are presented to them in the garb of religion, that religion would meet with eager acceptance, for the people have already been looking for means of self-deception in order to still the voice of conscience. Fourthly, The Personality of the Founder. Where the founder or originator of a religion already occupies a position of dominance in a community, he can employ the resources of the community for the propagation of the religion founded by him; for instance, where he is the successor of a saint or the founder of a movement or occupies some other position of command or authority over a community. A religion formulated by such a man is accepted at once by the community of which he is the head, and he finds the means of propagation of his religion ready to hand, and he can