Faith is among the most intimate dimensions of human life, a quiet dialogue between the individual and the divine, nurtured in silence, strengthened in reflection, and lived through values. When faith is paraded in public for display, it often loses its sanctity and risks becoming a tool for division, strife, or commercial exploitation. In the digital age, this danger has become starkly visible, where sacred deities are misused for promotion of YouTube videos and other online content.

Increasingly, creators employ artificial intelligence to generate clips of revered gods and goddesses, not to inspire devotion or reflection, but to manipulate audiences into “liking,” “sharing,” or “subscribing.” Algorithms amplify these clips, ensuring they reach millions instantly, turning sacredness into spectacle. The sacred is reduced to a marketing device, stripped of reverence and dignity, and nothing can be more unethical or distasteful than this commercialisation of belief. The tragedy lies not only in the act itself but in the silence that surrounds it, for few object, fewer protest, and many simply scroll past, indifferent to the erosion of respect for what should remain inviolable.

Any faith, by its nature, is personal and should avoid public exhibition or competitive display. When religiosity is showcased through ostentatious rituals, loud proclamations, or digital gimmicks, harmony is rarely the outcome; comparison and discord take its place, and spirituality is lost in the noise. Today, AI tools exaggerate rituals and simulate divine imagery, turning devotion into viral spectacle and overwhelming sincerity. History warns us of the dangers when blind faith overshadows intellect: Nazi Germany’s fanaticism enabled the Holocaust, the Crusades left centuries of bloodshed and mistrust, and the Thirty Years’ War devastated Europe.

Just as dogma once silenced reason, AI-driven propaganda now risks magnifying distorted belief at unprecedented speed, threatening to drown compassion and intellect beneath the flood of digital dogma. The lesson that emerges from history and from our present is that mutual respect and tolerance are the only safeguards of social harmony. Faith must remain personal, lived through values, not flaunted for applause. Every individual has the right to believe, but every individual has the duty to ensure that belief is not imposed, displayed, or weaponised in ways that disturb others.

The prerequisite for harmony is restraint ~ the careful avoidance of visible displays that provoke........

© The Statesman