belief system
Definition
Belief system refers to a structured network of interconnected belief elements, or nodes, whose degree of connection and centrality distinguishes ideological from lay belief. Within this framework, ideologies are defined as constrained sets of interconnected beliefs about how society is and how it ought to be, with certain nodes occupying structurally central positions by virtue of connecting to many others. In research on Indonesian Islamic jihadists, religion consistently occupied that central position, functioning as a sacred-symbolic core that remained stable even as peripheral operational beliefs shifted with deradicalization. Across a sample of 42 radicalized individuals, fusion with religion did not differ significantly between incarcerated and non-incarcerated participants, while willingness to fight for religion was lower among the incarcerated, indicating that the core is more resistant to change than the periphery. Perceived connections between Islamic identity and Sharia predicted greater willingness to fight for religion, whereas perceived connections between Islamic identity and democracy predicted less, showing that structural relationships among nodes, not content alone, drive ideological behavior.
Sources: Milla et al. (2026)
Related Terms
- ideological structure (1 shared article)
- Jihadism. (1 shared article)
Applications
Belief System and Radicalization
Radicalization is associated with tight structural connections between a sacred-symbolic core node and peripheral operational beliefs that legitimate violence. In the Indonesian jihadist sample, the perceived connection between Islamic identity and Sharia positively predicted willingness to fight for religion, suggesting that radicalization proceeds through the strengthening of links between identity and religiously sanctioned action rather than through the accumulation of ideological content.
Sources: Milla et al. (2026)
Belief System and Ideological Change
Ideological change within a belief system is better understood as a structural reorganization than as a wholesale replacement of content. When peripheral nodes gain new connections, the constant-sum principle governing associative network strength reduces the motivational potency of those nodes, loosening their link to the sacred core without displacing it. A documented case of an Indonesian militant Islamist who shifted to left-wing environmental activism illustrates this: his Islamist identity remained the central anchoring node while new peripheral commitments accumulated around it.
Sources: Milla et al. (2026)
Belief System and Deradicalization
Deradicalization appears to operate on the peripheral components of a belief system while leaving the sacred-symbolic core relatively intact. Among incarcerated participants who had undergone deradicalization programs, willingness to fight for religion was significantly lower than among non-incarcerated radicalized individuals, yet fusion with religion remained statistically comparable across both groups.
Sources: Milla et al. (2026)
