A recent Times of Malta opinion piece entitled ‘Global erosion of leadership’ (Alexiei Dingli, July 10) suggested that the decline in religious beliefs has led to the crumbling of our core values and lack of strong leadership. It might be easy to attribute the apparent decadence of society to the decline in religious beliefs and traditions but is this substantiated by facts?
Evidence suggests that countries with lower levels of religious belief, such as Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Canada, do not necessarily lack “basic manners and social norms”. Rather, these countries are frequently considered among the most desirable to live in by several standards.
Conversely, a 2017 publication in the Journal of Moral Education in Africa suggests that in Nigeria a “remarkable increase in the number of churches” has been observed to correlate with “moral decadence”. There doesn’t seem to be a clear relationship between religious affiliation and moral behaviour.
Even if religion has the potential of improving the moral behaviour of society, it is unrealistic to expect a return to a time when religion was more widely accepted and followed.
Religion, along with other ideologies, is being increasingly questioned and rejected. Rather than considering this shift as a negative development, we suggest digging deeper and taking the opportunity to examine societal issues from a wider perspective.
The closest thing to ideology that most live by in the West is neoliberalism: It is difficult to discuss contemporary ethical values without taking into consideration its emphasis on individualism, competition and self-interest over collective well-being.
Unsurprisingly, where this is left unchecked (including significantly religious countries like the United States), neoliberal politics lead to high income inequalities, eroding the social fabric and directly contributing to the collapse of moral convictions and values, particularly that of solidarity.
Neoliberalism has also been linked to the erosion of democratic processes. Corporations take over “economic and institutional resources, reducing the space available for politics and policy” (see https://jacobin.com/2021/06/neoliberalism-democracy-populist-right). “The direct consequence of this has been a stark decline in the representative character of our democracies” and the effective disenfranchisement of large segments of the population.
Statistics show a third of Maltese residents would be at risk of poverty without government assistance
These developments could perhaps explain better why we are veering toward populist leaders in today’s societies while missing the good, solid leadership that we crave.
Locally, we are no strangers to the effects of neoliberalism: While we boast of the fastest growing economy in the EU, NSO statistics show that a third of Maltese residents would be at risk of poverty without government assistance. Even the local Church is feeling compelled to sell and monetise its properties to raise enough funds to survive.
Yet, not all is doom and gloom. It is encouraging to see civil society initiatives, such as Solidarjetà, il-Kollettiv and other political groups emerging to address these societal issues. These grassroot organisations are taking a proactive approach to building a fairer and more just society, which is a positive step forward.
It is not a coincidence that both these initiatives’ names focus on bringing people together, aiming to be an antidote to the individualist neoliberal agenda.
Rather than wishing for the return of religion or any other ideology that demands blind following, the focus should be on improving communication, changing our ways and working together to create a more equitable society.
The decline of religion presents an opportunity to re-examine our values and priorities and to build a future that is just and inclusive for all.
Christian Colombo is chair of Humanists Malta. Jacob Micallef is an activist with Humanists Malta.