Enduring power of faith in a shaky world
TOM UTLEY asks: How did we reach the point where people have more faith in lucky underpants than God (Mail)? We should be concerned about the declining numbers of young people believing in God. Superstitions such as lucky underpants are all well and good, but they do not provide people with a moral framework and a sense of belonging to a community. Furthermore, they do not act as a catalyst for social action. In the U.S., a research team asked people who they would turn to if a member of their family needed help. While 25 per cent said a government agency, 86 per cent said a member of their congregation. People from faith communities are more likely to engage in social good, whether visiting the sick, helping the unemployed or caring for the poor. We would be much worse off without such contributions. ZAKI COOPER, Council of Christians
and Jews, London NW9. A BELIEF in magic underpants is, in most cases, a harmless self-delusion, while the belief in invisible supernatural overlords not only opens up the possibility of a lifetime of gullibility and servitude, but quite often leads to incredibly awful actions. Has Tom Utley read the Bible? I gather God was big on genocide.
NICK WILLIAMS, Brighton, E. Sussex. LIKE millions of Scouts and Guides, I made a promise that I would help other people at all times and do my duty to God and the monarch. I have led my life that way ever since. What right has the Guide Association to cast aside these traditions in pursuit of fashion by telling Guides to leave out references to God for fear of upsetting non-Christians or atheists? A Scout is a brother to every other Scout, and a Guide a sister to every other Guide, no matter their country, class or creed. So why would anyone be offended by a reference to God? In my Scout troop just after the war, there were Christians, a Muslim and a Sikh. I urge Guides throughout the country to ignore this directive from HQ or, better still, protest strongly.
BRIAN GEORGE, Woodbridge, Suffolk.