Only a couple of weeks ago Dr Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, was asserting that a society without religion is doomed to moral and social collapse. "You cannot expect the foundations of western civilisation to crumble and leave the rest of the building intact."
Quite where he gets his evidence from isn't clear (for example there's an irrelevant Facebook statistic about the "Friend" status of the under-35s) but a recent YouGov poll has come out since stating that only 25% of 18-24 year olds believe in God, and a mere 14% think that religion is, "on balance", a good thing.
So has an obvious absence of religious faith produced a generation of difficult-to-teach shallow hedonists? Does this, as Dr Sacks would presumably expect, mean that a decline in religion is leading us towards some radically new societal structure?
Nope, not a bit of it. Those surveyed confirmed that they are in most respects at least as level headed and conventional as their predecessors, with over 60 % looking forward to marriage and children and owning their own home. In other words, a significant majority expressing approval for the foundations of western civilisation, or what is normally described as traditional family values and its attendant structures.
Evidence eh? What would religious leaders do without it?
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but aren't religious leaders just men who ignore evidence and that's why they're religious leaders?
ReplyDeleteHi Marie,
ReplyDeleteapologies for being obtuse, but I was trying (and obviously failing) to be ironic/sarcastic/humorous.