Is Britain in moral decline?

asks a Beebs poll that seems to equate morality with religion. The commenters do a good job of picking the poll apart.

Britain is in moral decline say 83% of people polled for the new BBC One religious and ethical programme "The Big Questions". Do you agree?

Religion may be a way of halting this decline. According to "The Big Questions" opinion poll 62% agreed with the statement that religion has an important role to play in the moral guidance of the nation with 29% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with that statement.

Religion may be a way of halting this decline? Which religion? Christianity? Islam? Hindusim?

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What a load of crap. The old so-called morality of traditional 1950s "family values" is nothing but sexism and bigotry dressed up in fancy clothes. Morality is not in decline just because there is stupid crap on TV and kids dress in weird clothes and listen to ugly music. I'm so sick of hearing this. Old farts have been saying this since the 1960s because the power of rich, white men is being diminished by women and minorities claiming equality.

The religious people probably consider the rise of secularism to be a sign of moral decay, whereas the secularists may view religion as a sign of moral decay. Seems like you can't win this one.

By Tegumai Bopsul… (not verified) on 07 Sep 2007 #permalink

Old farts have been saying this since the 1960s...

It goes back much rather than that. You can find quotes about moral decay going back thousands of years.

By Tegumai Bopsul… (not verified) on 07 Sep 2007 #permalink

I do not consider that the 'term moral decay' refers to the concepts of equal rights for women and minorities but rather to the fact that young people in Britain are increasingly materialistic and less inclined to respect elders, other people and the law. Crime statistics are soaring as is teenage, unwanted pregancy and rates of premiscuousness among underage children.

How can the phenomenal buglary rates, the number of assaults and the brutality of the murders be in anyway associated with 'moral strength/uprightness'? Quite the opposite, the country seems to be coming appart at the seems and if something is not done then we can only expect the situation to get worse.

Surely even the most progressive people undwerstand the importance of respect for law, the elderly and other people's property. These are among the things which seperate 'civilised man' from 'barbarism'.

Religion has always had a role to play in promoting general 'goodness' and protecting society and the family (here used in its broader sense.) The specific religion is not important but rather the values it espouses.

It is also lamentable that young people feel no deep sense of pride or patriotism. Every thinking person is only too aware of the dangers presented by extreme nationalism but I do not think it would be too much if Bristish people and the British youth in particular were encouraged to look upon the many achievements of our country with an ounce of wonder and awe. After all, our history is long and colourful and while our overseas activities were sometimes questionable and not always politically correct by modern standards by the standards of the day they were very progressive and enlightened indeed.

Generally speaking, I believe that many of the social problems we are facing these days are the result of a lack of respect: the respect of people for each other, for the law and for their own history and country. This is sad indeed and I am convince that if we as a people do not somehow turn this around we can only see the situation degenerate further and look forward to somekind of backlash in the future. Backlashes are always undesirable and those of the last century (for example the Russian Revolution, Nazism etc.) were particularyly destructive. Do we really want the general public to gradually come to the point where it believes that the only option for a safe, harmonious and caring society is to begin listening to extreme right and left-wing demogogues ? We can see this begining even now and should take it as a warning.

To summarise, one should never depart too suddenly or completely from tradition. Evolution and progress are assured and, I believe, guaranteed to produce the kind of society we would all like to live in only if we moderate ourselves and keep our eyes firmly fixed on what we want to achieve and avoid the trap of doiong nothing when things begin to go awry.

Herman Stone

By Herman Stone (not verified) on 21 Sep 2007 #permalink