Introduction

“No habit or quality is more easily acquired than hypocrisy, nor any thing sooner learned than to deny the sentiments of our hearts and the principle we act from.”

-Bernard de Mandeville (1670-1733 CE)-Anglo-Dutch Philosopher.

The term ‘hypocrisy’ is known to have been derived from the Greek words ‘hupokrasis’ (‘acting a part’), ‘hupokrinesthai’ (‘to act on a stage’) and ὑποκριταί (hypokritai) which means “stage actors.” The actors are not what they claim to be, they are really not what they pretend to be, they are just acting a role on the stage. When audience have gone and there is no ‘on-looker’ they revert to their true self.

Jesus Christ describes hypocrisy as the deplorable state of a person who lowers himself to be an actor on a stage and willing to wear any mask and play any role just to get human applause. None of his action is for submitting to Almighty God, to seek His approval. With double facedness, like a stage actor, he has false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.

Although, hypocrisy is prevalent in social life, it has been condemned in almost every culture. Confucius, (551-479 BCE), Chinese philosopher, while advising people not to be a hypocrite, argued: “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire”. Socrates (circa 470-399 BCE)-Greek philosopher, viewed hypocrisy to be, not only a route to foolishness and away from wisdom, but also a hindrance to anyone attempting to become wise. Hypocrisy is severely denounced in the Hindu scriptures, and many analogies are given to describe this type of a person. In Sanskrit philosophy, a hypocrite is like a pot of poisonous fluid whose neck and mouth are smeared with milk. Gautama Buddha (circa 480-circa 400 BCE), founder of the world religion Buddhism said: “How easy it is to see your brother’s faults, / How hard to face your own”. In Abrahamic religions, hypocrisy is considered an “unforgivable sin”.

Hypocrisy, Moral and Religion:

“It is impossible for people to be moral without a belief in God or religion. The fear of God is what keeps people on the straight and narrow”.

Dr.Laura Schlessinger -American Best-seller Author

The belief, that religion is a precondition for morality which is unthinkable without God, is wide-spread and well-rooted. The notable feature of Saroglou’s religious dimensions (Believing, Bonding, Behaving and Belonging) categorizes morality as a key aspect of religion [1].Nina Mazar et al. conducted an experiment on 209 students to test the prediction that increasing people’s attention to their standards for honesty, through religious reminders, would make them more honest, by contrasting the magnitude of dishonesty in a condition in which participants were reminded of their own standards for honesty with a condition in which they were not. It was found that , after being asked to recall the Ten Commandments, participants who were given the opportunity to gain financially by cheating, did not cheat at all, whereas those who had the same opportunity to cheat but were not given the moral reminder cheated significantly. The results confirmed prediction that drawing people’s attention to moral standards, through religious reminders, can reduce dishonest behavior [2].

Moral Hypocrisy:

“Hypocrites are those who apply to others the standards that they refuse to accept for themselves”

Noam Chomsky-American philosopher

Batson et al have defined moral hypocrisy as: “the desire to behave morally while seeking opportunities to avoid adopting behaviors that actually result in morally good outcomes” [3] .In other words, it is the desire to present oneself as moral while acting in one’s self-interest. Another motive could be “desire to appear fair rather than to be fair”. It has also been described as “the deceptive pursuit of self-interest in which the individual violates his or her own moral standards” [4] or “when a person endorses a moral standard yet behaves in violation of it” [5].

In social psychology (study of the dynamic relationship between individuals and the people around them), it has been defined in a different style.

1. —-Stone and Fernandez describe it as “not practicing what you preach” [6]

According to Jordan et al, such a person, who preaches without practicing a value can be seen as sending a “false signal” about his or her morality [7]. This working definition is exemplified in Holy Bible, when Jesus Christ says of the “scribes and Pharisees,” whom he calls “hypocrites”: “Therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them” (Matthew 23:3—NIV). The Holy Quran: {2:44} makes it clear:”

“Do you exhort people to make room for everyone's welfare and progress in the society, while you disregard practicing what you preach? And all the while you study the Scripture! Will you not, then, use your sense?” (Using sense will tell that failing to practice what one preaches is but lying to one's 'self’).

—Barden et al [8] have defined it as “saying one thing and 

In Sanskrit, such a person is called a “dambhi” (literally meaning the one who presents a false image of greatness and goodness), preaching something and practicing the other. In religious norms this type of attitude is “Disconnect between Practice and Preaching”. It has been mocked by Sant Kabir Das (1440-1518 CE ) , Indian mystic poet and saint, as “The rosary of beads turns around in your hands, the tongue keeps moving in your mouth and your mind turns around in every direction – how can this be contemplation of Bhagavān?”. It has been exemplified in Holy Bible (James 2:14-26 ESV) as: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”. Likewise, the Holy Quran {61:2}, while addressing the Believers warns: “O You who have chosen to be graced with belief; Why do you say something which you do not do?”

1. Lammers et al [9] describe it as “publicly upholding moral norms, especially for others to follow, but personally violatiThis is what is called double-face and double-tongue, one face for people and one for self, one tongue to impress the people and the other when not seen. Bertrand Russel (1872-1970 CE) has beautifully phrased it: “We have in fact, two kinds of morality, side by side: one which we preach, but do not practice and another which we practice, but seldom preach.”. Pretending to be righteous may not be necessarily so, although it is an attempt to influence people skillfully. What is the motive behind the discrepancy between public versus private settings? It is indicative of a desire to appear moral in the eyes of others [10]. Moral hypocrisy could manifest itself at two levels:
2. 1. at the intrapersonal level- people adopt harsher and stricter standards of moral judgment for others than those they adopt for themselves [11].
   2. at the interpersonal level- people’s morality standards are inconsistent with their actual behavior; that is, their actual behavior fails to meet their claimed moral requirements of behavior [12].

Emotions and Moral Hypocrisy:

It has been demonstrated that the moral hypocrisy, is significantly influenced by people’s emotions and each specific emotion elicits a different motivation, which in turn satisfies a particular emotion- specific function [13] .Batson et al[3] , while investigating causes of moral hypocrisy, indicated that self-interest often overrides the goal of behaving with integrity, leading to hypocrisy. The researchers discussed factors that influence people’s moral hypocrisy.

al-Ghadab(Anger):

Anger, an emotion associated with increased power, results in prompting for social dominance. It causes people to be less tolerant of others.

Polman et al argue that anger increases moral hypocrisy, by shifting the standards for the self and others in contrary directions—thereby widening the gap between one’s moral behavior and the standards one holds for others [14].