Thought for the week

THERE is a quote attributed to G K Chesterton which runs: “When a man stops believing in God, he doesn’t believe in nothing, he believes in anything.” This is a worrying thought in the light of the latest British Social Attitudes survey, which reveals that over half the population say that they have no religious beliefs.

The human race throughout history and pre-history has demonstrated evidence of strong religious impulses shown in various ways. It seems evident the human brain is predisposed to believe in some superior force outside itself, some arbiter to whom it can appeal in times of need.

So if we no longer have the religious beliefs that we once had, in what do we believe instead?

Quite a lot of people still believe in political parties (despite experience), truth, justice and the American way, the British Empire, Victorian values .... I could cite a thousand examples. We are surrounded by businesses using advertising to try to persuade us to believe in their products. One of the most persistent ideas, peddled by governments everywhere, is the need for endless economic growth. I would like to see a politician ask how it can keep on growing forever – and what would be the environmental cost if it did?

We can all think of some people who believe in nothing so much as increasing their own power, riches and status and don’t care what they do to achieve this. On the other hand, we must remember there are moral, selfless people of all religions and none who dedicate themselves to making the world a better place. So, whether we have any traditional religious beliefs or not, it’s important to ask ourselves, “What do I believe in?”

Margaret Clarke