Universal Human values must gradually replace religion-inspired and religion-driven morals and ethics

 

The term religious education usually implies teaching of a particular religion that is dominant in the state or region, though in some secular countries, it implies the teaching of many religions, and even interfaith harmony. Religious instruction may include the imparting of knowledge of various aspects of religion including beliefs, mores, values, ethics, doctrines, rituals, customs, rites, legal issues and religious law, jurisprudence, etc, which are prevalent in that particular religion. Religious education is legally forbidden or severely restricted in some countries; in some other countries, it is taught alongside mainstream education; in some other countries, it constitutes the de facto method of education, though the latter is somewhat rare. In general, secular education is the norm in most places, and differentiation between education, or the promotion of one religion over the other is forbidden. In the USA, for example, religious education is not included in the curriculum, though it is taught to a rather limited extent in countries such as the UK, and more often than not, informally in countries such as China. However, strangely enough, religious education is mandatory in countries such as Finland. In most countries in Europe, children receive some exposure to Christian values either through the education system, or otherwise.

In traditional Muslim education, children are usually taught to read and memorize the Qur'an. Therefore, countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran provide religious education, with special provisions for minorities in some cases. There are however, many schools run by religious institutions in countries such as India, and such school often give preference to one religion over the other.  In some Buddhist countries, students are trained to become monks. In countries such as Pakistan, there are a large number of Islamic seminaries and madrasas. Religious education is often mandatory from a young age. In some Islamic seminaries, modern subjects such as English, sciences and mathematics are barely even taught, or not at all. Therefore, students who pass out of such Madrassas become misfits in society. There has been very little attempt at reforming such religious institutions. In India, however, it is heartening to note that Madrassas are being progressively being reformed, and their presence is being severely curtailed, as seen in states like Assam. However, some others see such measures as discriminatory. Whatever be the case, all voices need to be heard. Many educated Muslims parents do not prefer to send their students to Madrassas, either. Most Muslim children particularly more affluent ones, are enrolled in modern schools, and not Madrassas. Some Madrassas however, serve as breeding grounds for terrorists, and teach their students not only Jihad, but also hatred towards other religions. This is true not only for nations such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also Bangladesh and India as well. Similar allegations are made regarding Saraswathi Shishu Mandirs, and RSS training camps as well which impart Hindutva ideology though modern subjects are indeed taught. Many missionary schools also seek to promote Christian values, but seek modern subjects as well.  Moral studies are taught in many modern schools, but there is no universal consensus on the subject. Dalai Lama and Sam Harris have done some research on universal human values, but other thought leaders also need to emerge. We need to put an end to arcane and esoteric intellectualism, and produce intellectuals who serve the needs of society. This has been one of our foundational pillars always.

To begin with, publicly funded religious schools must come to an end, and their curriculum strictly and rigidly monitored. As an example, the former USSR, had diminished the importance given to religious education, long before the communist regime had come to an end. Religious education can of course continue to be imparted by parents, and in private institutions as long as demand for it exists. However, as parents become more scientifically inclined, the role played by religion in society may slowly decline. Students must however be taught scientific views of history; for example, the Hindu caste system may be taught among other things using current and uptodate historical models, and not Ambedkar era constructs; likewise, Christians and Muslims must also know negatives about their religion. This will temper the ill-effects of religion, but much more importantly, allow newer religious movements to emerge that are more in line with modern contemporary requirements.

The scientific origins of religious practices must also be taught however unsavoury or unpleasant they may be; Marxist historians would only be obsessed and pre-occupied with not hurting the sentiments and feelings of minorities. Majority or minorities, the sentiments of people deserve to be hurt wherever they deserve to be hurt in the broader interests of progress and human welfare; there can be no duplicity of standards. There must be no form of discrimination in the media between religions, and wherever there is, it must arise and stem from the fact that all religions are not equal. Therefore, criticisms of religions will also not be equal. Also refer to our principle of equidistance. In the interim, the basics of different religions may be taught to different students at the appropriate level without prejudice or whitewashing so that students may understand how people from different parts of the world think, act and behave. More careful thought needs to go into this process. Some religious schools teach hatred against minorities, some promote entirely religion-based values such as dietary restrictions and fasting, some may stress or emphasize more on religion-inspired values and religion derived values, while some may ignore universal human values completely. Of course, religion cannot be wished away with a magic wand as it plays important personal, social, cultural, economic and political functions. Religion also promotes as we feeling and a sense of association and belonging with like-minded people. Readers may refer to the work done by CH Cooley in 1909 where he explored the role of primary and secondary groups and institutions. It is also associated with identity, and can only slowly decline. We would also like to see how, when and why new religious movements emerge in future.

We see no signs of a meaningful and a persistent change happening. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran were relatively secular and modern several decades ago; now, they are swinging dangerously towards extremism. India was secular decades ago, but a warped interpretation of secularism may have led it towards the path to Hindutva and Hindu extremism. Indians are also superstitious, and many flock to Godmen in the hope of gaining salvation. We also have important data to back up this position, and show that religion may not be obliterated completely. A religious poll called the GAMAAN religious poll was conducted in Iran in the year 2020. The survey which was titled “Iranians’ attitudes toward religion” was conducted between June 6 to 21, 2020. Over fifty thousand respondents most of whom were Shia Muslim and were aged eighteen and above were surveyed, out of which 90% lived in Iran. According to the compiled results, 78% of Iranians believed in some kind of a God, 37% believed in life after death, 30% believed in the concepts of heaven and hell, 26% believed jinns existed, and 26% believed in the coming of a saviour. Around 20% of the people surveyed did not believe in any of the above.

Similar surveys have been conducted in Turkey to survey the extent of religion and irreligion in Turkey. Most of the people surveyed were Muslims, and Islam is the predominant religion in Turkey. A small number of people in Turkey are deists, atheists or agnostics. One study in Turkey showed that 95% believed in God in general while only 75% identified as religious. Another study conducted by the French company named “Ipsos” interviewed 17,180 adults in 22 countries, and stated that atheists accounted for only 1.7% of people interviewed from Turkey, while agnostics accounted for 3%. Another survey KONDA, which was conducted in Turkey in the year 2018, reported that 51% of the population was fully religious, while 34% were “believers who did not fulfil religious obligations”. Only 3% of the population was atheist according to this survey. In the USA, only between 6% and 15% of citizens demonstrated completely nonreligious worldviews, and considered themselves atheists or agnostics. Other Western nations are not wide off the mark. Of course, atheism is not the only solution for religion; we have other solutions such as agnosticism, deism, spiritualism, secular humanism, and possible new and novel religious movements as well that benefit society, and are not in conflict with science. Therefore, science cannot replace religion entirely; some kind of moral codes can however make people gradually less religious. We had also proposed another approach called “Structured apperception tests for sociocultural change” to analyze how and when human thinking patterns change. These can be used as inputs into the planning process as well. Readers are also well-advised to read our papers on pedagogy and the sociology of science, also our books on pedagogy and religion.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama states, "Science for all the benefits it has brought to the external world, has not yet provided a scientific grounding for the development of the foundations of personal integrity. - the basic inner human values that we appreciate in others, and would do well to promote in ourselves. Perhaps, then we should seek inner values from religion as people have done for millennia? Certainly, religion has helped millions of people in the past, helps millions today, and will continue to helpmillions in the future. But for all its benefits in offering moral guidance and meaning in life, in today's secular world religion alone is no longer adequate as a basis for ethics. One reason for this is many people in the world today, do not follow any one particular religion. Another reason is that, as people become more and more interconnected in the world of globalization, ethics based on any one religion would only appeal to some of us. It would not be meaningful at all; Therefore, in today's world, any religion-based answer to the problem of human values must be deemed woefully inadequate. What we need today, is an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion, and will be equally acceptable to those with faith, and those without: a secular ethics. As a simple example, according to Islam, adopting children is a bad practice; now, there is a historical basis for this, and an absolutely unconvincing one; but, this scarcely a universal human value. Islam allows people from all backgrounds and races to lead prayers and congregations. Very good. But can women lead prayers and congregations in Islam?

We also do not need people like Dr Zakir Naik, or anyone from any other religion for that matter to preach values and morals on the basis of an archaic set of scriptures. Religions must also be assessed and evaluated comprehensively, and non-lopsidedly, not on the basis of a limited set of parameters as woolly-headed and self-destructing Marxists do. It is sometimes said that Marxism is the opium of intellectuals, but regrettably and lamentably, intellectualism is still largely based on outdated notions and paradigms. Ideology-drenched individuals have their professional competence and their character compromised with. It makes them less than ideal citizens and denizens. Ethics are moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity. Ethics is also the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles, and the term is derived from the Greek word “ethos”, which means “way of living”. The term “morals” has a slightly different connotation, and refers to the ability to distinguish between good and bad. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Sam Harris have taken baby steps in the field of ethics and morals, but a lot more work needs to be done. Dalai Lama’s work has a religious tinge to it; it does not accomplish a fine balancing act between measured and graduated religious freedom, and the need to reduce the role played by religion in modern society through the use of appropriate social science research techniques. The Dalai Lama’s work also does not provide a complete listing of human values. Some other Indian religious leaders have attempted definition of universal human values, but their missions are often centered around personality cults. Then, there is cultural relativism to be grappled with. Non-vegetarianism is a taboo among Jains, but vegetarianism is inconceivable among many other cultures.

According to the Russian British philosopher Isaiah Berlin, "Universal values are values that a great many human beings in the vast majority of places and situations, at almost all times, do in fact hold in common, whether consciously and explicitly or as expressed in their behaviour." Others such as the social psychologist Shalom H. Schwartz have speculated on the existence of human values. Also, we need to ask this fundamental question: why does technology progress so much, and the social sciences so little? San Harris argues that science can set the tempo for human values, but why isn’t it succeeding and why isn’t religion fading or receding? Finding answers to such questions can probably help us solve many problems automatically. Ethics and morals must be taught by category; examples could be honesty, truthfulness, dedication, character building, social responsibility, environmental responsibility, discipline and sincerity. Students’ own emic perspectives and enculturation patterns must be assessed (students from varying cultures and socio-cultural backgrounds) before value systems are formulated. Has this every been done today?

We need practical solutions, not the mindless esoteric rants of ethical naturalists, deontologists and other assorted closed groups. Examples of intellectual nerdism include GE Moore’s open question argument which supposedly seeks to refute the equating of the property of goodness with some non-moral property. Let us put an end to all this esoteric and meaningless intellectual activity. In some science fiction movies of yore, it was stated that humans would soon consume bland and tasteless food tablets. But what about culture and human taste buds? Such notions demonstrate the disconnect between scientists and non-scientists. They also demonstrate the disconnect between non social scientists and social scientists. Our assertion is one of the byproducts of our globalization of science movement as science needs to work in daily life. It needs to solve real-world problems. Karl Popper may have been geeky as many or most intellectuals come, but he was more down to earth, pragmatic, and concerned about the quality of science. We need a new word to be coined that would describe intellectual activity in relation to social good. This concept would be the antithesis of geekism. But just what word would fit the bill? Of course, we need a new discipline or a field of study to be instituted to study individual’s learning patterns outside mainstream academia. This needs to be understood preferably for each socio-cultural group and each socio-economic group, and changes to patterns assessed over time. This also can be linked with our concepts such as the concept of mindspace. How many Indian or Chinese are interested in a study of ancient Egypt? Such studies can throw up vital clues for pedagogy and inter-disciplinary research, and can be built into pedagogy itself. Thus, reform in pedagogy is also vital in setting the direction, tone and tempo of a critical evaluation of religion in the twenty-first century. Universal human values and universal morals must be conceptualized, listed, elaborated upon, synthesized and taught to students all over the world as a part of moral studies, or otherwise.  This is not an easy task, and several scholars and intellectuals must be involved as well. This must become one of the biggest movements of the twenty-first century. Pedagogical concepts are still obsolete; these must change as well.