Losing My Religion

Mark Siara - Mon 31 Mar, 2008

As religious belief has withered in Britain, it has been replaced by a love of money

Two recent reports highlight the changing nature of Britain with regards to society and secularism. One was much trumpeted while the other barely received a mention in the mainstream press. They are, respectively, the call to pledge an allegiance to The Queen and the findings that people who are religious have a happier life.

To be fair the anonymity of the second story was probably down to timing; the fuss that Paul McCartney’s ex was making tended to obscure most things – Fed rate cuts, the North Korean nuclear strike and the landing of a UFO on the White House lawn for example. Oh, you’d not heard? See what I mean. A side note – some commentators have suggested that Heather Mills ex-McCartney has a job for life in South Africa: apparently they’re always on the lookout for good Gold Diggers. Obviously that view isn’t endorsed by anyone here at the Daily Reckoning (perish the thought), although her £24.3 million settlement works out at £17000 per day of marriage, so some of the more unscrupulous amongst you may find it hard to disagree.

But back to the secularisation of Britain. I’m at the risk here of stepping on the excellent Reverend Dr Peter Mullen's toes, but I will add a financial slant to the religious debate. Of course there will be some of you out there who think religion is all nonsense, a control mechanism based on fear and irrational beliefs. But we are in a time of irrational beliefs. For example, Ben Bernanke believes he can beat the market and keep the US economy afloat by flooding the system with more fiat currency. And Al istair Darling believes (as outlined in the recent budget) that "Britain is better placed than other economies to withstand the slowdown in the global economy" Compared to that, the Son of God rising from the dead after three days doesn’t seem at all unreasonable.

Of course religion can seem irrational – it is a belief system after all, based on faith. But that doesn’t mean it is wrong and it certainly doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits to be had. For example, an often overlooked point about religion is this: it gives people another focus, something else to concentrate on other than the minutiae of their sometimes (often) mundane lives. And people are all the better for it once they can see the big picture. Happier too , apparently. There are other benefits of organised religion – a sense of belonging, a feeling of community, of being a part of a larger whole. A group of like-minded individuals who have the same values and beliefs, beliefs that they are prepared to defend against all comers.

But in the 20 th Century as religion and religious practices have fallen out of favour, something has sprung up in its place. Actually lots of things: new age beliefs, environmentalism, the celebrity culture. And then there’s Mammon. As Matthew Chapter 6: Verses 24-34 famously states: “Ye cannot serve God and mammon”. Mammon – there is often confusion here. Mammon is not money, but the worship of money above all else. There is nothing wrong with earning money or with wealth per se, but when it becomes an end rather than a means then that is when the problems begin.

Now the irreligious Anglo-Saxons found that something was missing. They were lacking – for want of a better expression – spirituality. So their focus shifted elsewhere, away from the holy back to the worldly and thence to the pursuit of money. This lead in turn to a parallel religion developing: Famous designers became the new high priests with celebrities their willing disciples. Shopping centres were the new cathedrals. And OK or Hello became the new Bible in which there was only one commandment: “Spend, Spend, Spend!” and cheap credit was there to assist them.

But now that era has ended – the purchasing power is gone and people are looking to fill the void in other ways. Hence the idea of an oath to the Queen. As well as giving the soon-to-be embarrassed teenagers a feeling of Britishness (whatever that means in today’s diverse and increasingly international society) and some pride in their country they will also have that sense of belonging we all seem to crave. It’s almost a religious experience, though nobody dare admit it. Well that’s the theory anyway. It won’t work of course because it is just window dressing. There’s nothing to back it up, nothing inside – like the grandest of empty cathedrals a hollow tone emits.

The Anglo-Saxons are too far gone down the Mammon motorway to let minor ceremony make them take the next slip road off. But if they do venture onto the winding religious ‘A’ roads, they may find themselves poorer but happier. And now their money is devaluing at a rapid rate and their credit cards are maxed out and their house prices are falling, they may have to re-evaluate. We’ve spent too much on things we don’t need with money we don’t have, they may say. From the Bernanke put to Catholic guilt in around two decades. Or perhaps they’re invested in gold and are going to do it all over again.