I get really fed up with religious people telling us that the reasons for the ills in today’s society are due to our rejection of religion. See today’s moan by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor for example.

The UK is certainly less religious than it used to be, say 50 years ago, and our society is probably worse now than it was then. The problems in the US are a lot worse when you look at measures such as murder, teen pregnancies and drug addiction. Is the US less religious than it used to be? I don’t know.

It’s interesting that there are studies like those of Gregory Paul that show there is a correlation between sociological problems and religiousness and there is also the work of Phil Zuckerman who has shown that the most stable, balanced, safe, societies are the most secular, non-religious ones such as the Scandinavian countries.

Here’s my take on this issue. Societies that have historically had their morality imposed on them from religious authorities have never been forced to think for themselves. It’s the equivalent of a parent telling a child to do something ‘because I say so’. Once that religious authority loses its influence, then there could well be a loss of moral direction, in the same way as a child might misbehave once a parent loses control.

In a society where morality isn’t imposed and could be said to be somewhat subjective, you have to consider for yourself what the consequences of your actions are and take full responsibility for your actions. This internally generated morality will always stay with you.