Myth 1: the truth will set you free

A fundamental premise of Western culture is that people do wrong things because they don’t know any better. Once they know, they’ll make better choices. If ignorance is the problem, then information, of course, is the cure.

We assume, for instance, that:

• Obesity is caused by a lack of awareness about the dangers of poor diet and inactivity. So, we flood people with calorie counts, BMI charts, and food pyramids, believing that more information will lead to healthier choices.

• Unemployment is simply a skills gap. “If only they received the right training, they’d find stable work.” In response, we design workshops, job programs, and career resources, expecting that education alone will solve the problem.

• Climate change denial stems from ignorance about the science or its consequences. Our solution? Share graphs, research studies, and alarming forecasts, assuming that once people understand the facts, they’ll change their behavior.

Our assumptions are twofold: 1) people are generally rational and self-interested, and therefore 2) they will make necessary changes once they have the right information. This is why giving people the facts is usually our first port of call when attempting to mobilise people for change.

We see this same assumption in church leadership. When churches struggle, leaders often think that simply presenting the facts—declining attendance, lack of baptisms, etc. —will spur action. So we present the numbers:

• "We’re not growing."

• "We haven’t baptised anyone in five years."

• "We used to have 100 regulars—now we’re down to 30."

But is knowledge alone really enough to drive change?

The Invisible Barrier: Ego Defenses

The problem that the-truth-will-set-you-free runs into is what Freud called ‘ego defenses’. When humans receive inconvenient or confronting information our brains activate one of several unconscious coping mechanisms. In other words, we find creative ways to banish these thoughts from our awareness; this is especially true when the information concerned provokes in us feelings of deep stress or anxiety.

Here are four common ego defenses:

1. Denial – refusing to accept an inconvenient fact.

• “I’m not addicted—I can quit anytime.”

• “There are no good jobs out there anyway.”

• "That’s not true—our church is just fine!"

  2. Projection – shifting blame onto others.

• “The government just wants to control us with these smoking laws.”

• “Employers only hire people with connections.”

• "It’s all the Bishop’s fault!”

  3. Idealisation – Romanticising our situation, preferring the picture we have in our minds to the one that exists in reality.

• “My grandfather smoked his whole life and lived to 90.”

• “Back in the day, people got jobs without fancy degrees.”

• "I don’t see any problems here. We’re doing just fine.”

  4. Rationalisation – Justifying our behavior with excuses.

• “Smoking helps me relax—I’d be more stressed without it.”

• “I could get a job if I really wanted one, but it’s not worth it.”

• "The church down the road is having far bigger problems”.

When confronted with difficult truths, These defenses operate unconsciously, meaning people don’t realise they’re resisting change when they’re busy doing exactly that. And the utilisation of an ego defense is of course a thoroughly human experience (we’ve all been there and done that!)

So the act of confronting people with facts is not a great strategy for mobilising change. What does work? We’ll get to that soon. Before that though, myth 2: the burning platform.