THIS is with reference to the article ‘Materialistic metaphysics’ (March 29). If the decline in religiosity is the main cause of problems today, the countries with greatest decline in religiosity should have the most problems. On the contrary, these countries, such as Australia, Finland and Sweden, are thriving and the crime rate in these societies is declining.

The writer’s opinion that irreligiousness makes a person immoral has serious implications. Most religious people declare people of other religions as immoral, somehow inferior and less intelligent. They think that they are the sole bearer of truth.

However, the truth is that most societies and cultures endorse similar moral values. Killing human beings, taking advantage of people and lying are considered bad in every society. Some of them are non-religious. Moral disagreements are far less.

We live in an increasingly secular and post-metaphysical age. If we look around, we will see many agnostics and atheists doing good deeds and many religious people doing bad deeds. Some pernicious practices and ideas are being propagated by people of many religions. These include fundamentalism, obscurantism, patriarchy and repression of others.

Furthermore, morality requires one to be impartial. No one should feel privileged and treated differently. Some religious leaders promote questionable teachings, like, for instance, men being more intelligent and industrious.

Critical thinking can help a person identify morally wrong acts. We can remake the world through our choices and by making rational decisions. The fact is that reason is the source of morality,and, therefore, it should not be trivialised.

Haleema Sadia
Kallar Syedan

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2024