Inherently Human Values
Transcribed into our genetic code is the recognition of inherently human values. Human beings have decidedly imperative needs. As animals in a world of nature we respond first of all to the primal need to self-preservation. We instinctively call into action those elements of human nature capable of protecting ourselves from harm.This most elemental of needs is accompanied by suspicions of things we're not familiar with, situations and people whose motives we feel intrinsically, instinctively, self-protectively not to be trusted. Mostly, because they are, in some manner, unlike ourselves.
On the other hand, that fundamental suspicion which creates barriers to understanding and which so often results in hostility, must balance against other human emotions which dispose us toward charity and courtesy, dispelling enmity, given the opportunity.
As humans we are all endowed with basic emotional necessities; for acceptance, for emotional support, for the standard of a close generic unit of comfort.
Inbred into most peoples' consciousness is a willingness to be kind and courteous to others, to acquire friends upon whom we can rely for support, to be concerned for the welfare of those around us, to extend patience and generosity of spirit.
These human attributes counter those that, stemming from suspicion, encourage us to withhold from others empathic concern, kindness and openness.
We respond to those within our inner circles; family and friends, community and shared culture our best attributes of human understanding and concern, and take a step backward when encountering those whose presence is outside of the comfort of communal sameness, of other ethnic, cultural and historical backgrounds. Perfectly normal.
Some far-seeing sages of times long gone sought to instill in the consciousness of their communities an emphasis on the positive role of human emotions and desires, with an effort to depress the more deleterious effects of countering human emotions and desires.
The clever instrument constructed by wise heads was the very human construct of a Divine Power responsible for life on earth and whose guiding hand writ large basic precepts of social cohesion; brotherhood.
As a device it has been unparalleled in human history, in its unflagging and occasionally successful attempts at fashioning human communities in a collective mode of obeying the High Presence and accepting the need to obey these basic precepts - from the Code of Hammurabi to the Ten Commandments - exhorting the faithful to remain true to a code of human values.
A study recently released through a survey of 1,600 Canadian adults has resulted in the conclusion that these social virtues that make a society accepting and humane are inextricably linked to faith in the Divine. The subjects were exposed to a list of 12 virtues, ranging from honesty, kindness, family life, being loved, friendship, courtesy, concern for others, forgiveness, friendliness, patience and generosity.
Their responses, weighed against one standard; whether the respondents were affiliated with a religion, or whether they were irreligious, led to the conclusion that those who espoused no belief in the Almighty scored lower in the catalogue of belief in and practise of these social values, than those whose faith exposed them constantly to the need to give credence to their faith in God by living by the faith's credo of humane expressions.
And, as a result of the survey - which the lead author, sociologist Reginald Bibby of University of Lethbridge contends is proof positive that religious groups are being exposed to a range of values that inform their lifestyles, making them more responsively responsible members of society than non-believers for whom constant urgings to live a life of religious expression are absent - "we may pay a significant price" as a society.
Professor Bibby is a fervent believer whose personal values accord with those he placed in his questionnaire. While he does acknowledge that many non-believers also place a high value on moral and ethical behaviour, they lack the 'legacy' of those whose faith instills in them constant reminders of the need to practise the virtues.
The survey resulted in a 5% differential between how believers and non-believers value honesty.
The largest difference in opinion resulted from the value of forgiveness, at the stated core of most major religions - at 32%. "Look at the culture as a whole and ask yourself: to what extent do we value forgiveness against themes like zero-tolerance? We don't talk very much about what we're going to do for people who fall through the cracks. So I think forgiveness is pretty foreign to a lot of people if they're not involved in religious groups."
He's right there. It's more advantageous to society, I'll warrant to value each of the virtues in the list of 12, than the one outlined in the above statement. Forgiveness is a questionable one. One can forgive certain transgressions, but there are many that fall into a category that places them beyond forgiveness. If what differentiates a religious person from one who is not, is the propensity to forgive, however offensive the transgression, it speaks of supine irresolution.
There are some affronts against humanity that go well beyond forgiveness. And who are we, ordinary mortals to forgive those who take it upon themselves to visit upon others acts of violence so extreme as to remove themselves from normalcy and any vestige of humane response. Let the Almighty take it unto Himself to expatiate on forgiveness and extend it on behalf of that portion of humankind who have such faith.
Nice to note that the study acknowledges that believers will not always follow through on their mantra of religious values; they 'hold' the values, but perhaps withhold their actual practise. Believe what I say to be a true expression of what I practise; but not always, perhaps never. People respond to certain questions about character in a manner that mirrors how they believe they should. To translate that into practise is another thing entirely. To base conclusions on that ephemerally tenuous link is questionable.
The values, however, are intrinsic to human nature, irrespective of any faith extolling their virtues and encouraging their practise. The human animal is but one in the animal kingdom that invests itself with goodness in practise. Animal ethologists and behaviourists have pointed out time and again that animals in the wider kingdom have the capability and the need to express and practise kindness and care toward one another.
Human altruism, charity, the ethos of caring, of expending one's energies on behalf of another, facing dangers for others is a characteristic of humanity, not of religion.
Labels: Realities, Religion, That's Life
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, October 14, 2007
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