The Cult of Honor
The cult of honor is second of four stages in the fullest possible development of society (credit where due to Spencer’s Social Statics). It often devolves into its antithesis, the ‘cult of dignity’, (Herrman,2017) thereby diminishing what the cult of honor otherwise provides, namely,the quality of our militaries, religious structures, professions and bureaucracies; because of the cult we are prepared to enter ‘ad hoc’ offices on cause – the good Samaritan, e.g. The cult of honor is first of all a ritualized expression of a social ideal, specifically of traits that can be termed ‘honorable’. It very oftenarises either because persons or groups wish to experience pride in their cultural heritage or because they feel a calling to excel at culturally relevant activities. This paper also advances the view that the concept of ‘sportsmanship’ mirrors what the cult stands for,and what public expectationboth requires and demands. Characteristics of some thirty cults throughout three primary types of office are shown to reflect the concept.
