“Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.” - Alexis de Tocqueville
“We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instills morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid.” - Christopher Hitchens
Both of the quotes are on how religion affects morality. However, Tocqueville says that faith is what leads to morality, and without morality, then there would be no freedom. Meanwhile, Hitchens says that religion causes people to become more immoral and “more stupid”, which is something people don’t normally expect.
Personally, I am more on Tocqueville’s side. Everyone needs something they can fall back on when they have troubles. This can be anyone or anything. Some people might not be able to find comfort in people, but finds that comfort in supernatural beings. This is what leads people to find and hold on to certain religious beliefs or faiths.
What Hitchens is saying can be considered true to a certain point. However, I think that there are other things that play into the imperfections of religion. Generally, the basis of all religions is to treat other people the same way you would want to be treated. However, the ways to treat people differ in different religions. Some people stray away from the original meaning of treating other people equally in good ways and focus on what not to do and making certain actions or groups of people seem bad. Some people even take things to the extreme by killing others. However, I think that the way they’re environment, socio-economic background, and education plays a role in how they interpret a religion.
Contrary to Hitchens’s statement, I think that most people have a certain sense of morality instilled to them through joining a religion. Some people think that atheists are better since they consider their actions more in life. However, I think that not everyone can become an atheist because they feel that they need something to fall back on. Also, most religions have a consequence or punishment for things that they consider “not good”, which can prevent people from committing those acts. These consequences allow some people to consider their actions more than they would have normally.
I also think that with religions, you have small communities which allow you to help one another and get to know more people. The more people you get to know and understand, the less “selfish” you get. These small communities also allow people to branch out, donate, and work with charities or non-profit organizations they wouldn’t have found by themselves. I think that these small communities at least instills a sense of responsibility in the individuals that join it to take part in activities.
As Tocqueville said, without an individual sense of “morality”, there will be no “liberty”. If everyone was able to treat other people equally, there will be more freedom or “liberty”. People will act that way on instinct without the need of governmental laws or obligations to bind them because they feel it is the right thing to do. It all comes back to the faith that they place, and how that faith affects them as a person, which is why I am on Tocqueville’s side more than Hitchens’s.
