Values are synonymous with virtues, and we know from the above that faith builds social virtues amongst individuals within a group. But let’s further discuss the issues of faith and values.
Dr. Phillip McGraw, in ‘We’ve Got Issues’, highlights the decline in moral values resulting from the trend towards faithless society. According to McGraw, the decline of religion’s influence on society has led to:
- Divorce and cohabitation becoming more acceptable
- Fewer and later marriages
- Fewer children
- More single parents and broken homes
- A slower economy, and
- Less opportunity for everyone.
“When the traditional family breaks down, everything starts breaking down”, McGraw states.
At length Emile Durkheim discusses the impacts of the breakdown in the family unit as related to religion: “the family is a powerful safeguard against suicide” and “Suicide varies inversely with the degree of integration of religious society,” he states.
Alexis de Tocqueville also alerts us to a risk of the destruction of our values, and suggests religion as the solution: “When religion is destroyed among a people, doubt takes hold of the highest portions of the intellect and half paralyzes all the others… Such a state cannot fail to enervate souls; it slackens the motivating forces of will and prepares citizens for servitude. Then not only does it happen that the latter allow their liberty to be taken, but they often give it up.”
Clearly, faith is vitally important for the development of shared values.
According to the work of Schwartz & Huismans, “Theological, sociological, and psychological analyses of religion suggest that religiosity associates positively with values that enhance transcendence, preserve the social order, and protect individuals against uncertainty, and negatively with values that emphasize self-indulgence and favor intellectual or emotional openness to change.”
Further, according to the findings of Saroglou, Delpierre, Dernelle, religious people tend to favor values that “promote conservation of social and individual order (Tradition, Conformity, and to a lesser extent, Security)” and that “allow for a limited self-transcendence (Benevolence, but not Universalism)”, while tending to “dislike Hedonism and to a lesser extent values that promote self-enhancement (Achievement, Power).” Further, “effects were constant across different religious denominations (Christians, Jews, and Muslims) and cultures.”
Arguably the greatest human value supported by faith is happiness:
“People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups”, according to a study from Pew Research. “This may suggest that societies with declining levels of religious engagement, like the U.S., could be at risk for declines in personal and societal well-being” Pew Research reasons. Below and illustrating the connection between religiosity and happiness is a slightly modified chart from the Pew Research study.
Yes, faith does lead to shared values.
Thanks for reading!