The scene of Donald Trump brandishing the Bible in front of a church in Washington, DC, following the assassination of George Floyd, remains imprinted in our memory.

A year earlier, there had been another distasteful event: Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega party in Italy, entrusting Italy to the Virgin Mary and kissing a rosary at a political rally while creating a climate of hate against immigration. And, only recently, we saw Russian President Vladimir Putin refer to Bible verses to justify his decision to invade Ukraine.

These politically exploitative dramas go against basic human rights and the principle of solidarity that individuals and peoples are entitled to.

One may be tempted to ascribe these as unique dark incidents. However, we all can fall into the trap of shaping the image of God according to our needs.

With the pseudo democratisation brought about by the advent of social media, distorting information, promoting false stories and facilitating political manipulation has become a common occurrence. It has become extremely difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Sadly, for many people, social media has become their proverbial golden calf and a platform for promoting false ideals.

Nonetheless, manipulation of information to suit one’s objectives is not limited to social media. Our own Public Broadcasting Services chose to omit from its reporting the strong petition of Pope Francis during his first encounter at the Presidential Palace. The pope made an appeal to do away with the culture of corruption, lack of care for the environment and to enhance solidarity. Yet, government-leaning media chose to focus on the celebration of the pope’s visit.

It is very easy to turn a pointing finger as if we have nothing to do with all this. But how much of the pope’s message of peace, solidarity, charity, and love of people we encounter daily has really sunk into our heart?

The elimination of any moral standards gives way to a free-for-all society where no boundaries are set- Claudio Farrugia

Popular religion has relegated God to mere images of saints and statues that adorn our over-elaborate churches while others subscribe to the idea disseminated by German philosopher Nietzsche that “God is dead”. So it follows that each person reinvents himself as a connoisseur of morality and creates his own values and principles according to his own whims.

Pope Francis has warned us against this: “Some carve out a ‘do-it-yourself’ faith that reduces God in the limited space of their own desires and their own beliefs. But this faith is not conversion to the Lord that is revealed; in fact, it prevents him from arousing our life and our conscience.”

The elimination of any moral standards gives way to a free-for-all society where no boundaries are set. A society with an uninformed conscience gives rise to atrocities, greed, corruption, impunity, disrespect for human lives and many other societal maladies.

The new amendments to the IVF procedures is typical of this attitude. It is a gateway to selective breeding of populations, better known as eugenics. The embryos that carry an unwanted mutation are frozen indefinitely. However, some opt to sell the lie that these frozen embryos may be offered for possible adoption. This issue is not confined to the act itself but it has an overarching effect as such measures indirectly promote a culture that discriminates against people living with disabilities.

Renouncing one’s religious beliefs does not give a free rein on moral standards. Nietzsche warned against the preposterous creation of our own gods.

American philosopher Ronald Dworkin, in his book Taking Rights Seriously, argues that individual rights are often used as “trumps” over collective welfare goals. Such discourse creates an unhealthy climate of ‘us and them’.

Healthy societies must be built on responsibilities, duties and obligations rather than a language of rights. Overly liberal beliefs create conflict, whereas a society based on solid moral values, and not a do-it-yourself set of ‘values’, builds a better world for us and future generations.