This post was published 3 years 10 months 19 days ago.
Information may no longer be valid.

Throughout history there has always been a fear of someone, something. The Romans were smart enough to assimilate local Gods into their society as they conquered foreign lands… The ancient Egyptians had 2000 years of unchallenged rule because the Kings were considered to be Gods on earth… Throughout history one of the major reasons for being good was for the returns you would receive in your life, and afterlife, from God.

As someone who isn’t religious, I can recognize the requirement for religion in uncivilized society. There can be no greater deterrent than a possible punishment from a power you, as a human, could not comprehend or avoid. I also recognize that in this day and age there are not many truly religious individuals in the western world, and the western world suffers from a youth culture that seems to think nothing about bullying, drug taking and even killings. Recent news in the UK is littered with young adults or children that seem to have a total lack of control and while I consider that with lack of religion these people lack fear of God, they also lack fear of their parents in most cases.

I know right from wrong, and I’m not religious. So what went right with me? Good parenting perhaps?

In the United States, where religion still holds strong – much stronger than the UK – I don’t see the type of youth problems I see in the UK. You can drive through any town there and see it, here – I am yet to see the ‘Yobbish Youth’.

Of course, America has it’s own issues such as Gangs, but I believe the causes here are poverty, where badly educated individuals feel that joining a gang is the way to become richer than those who do not, where they think they’ll be able to get what they want out of life or have power over those who are around them.

So, what do you think? Fear of Prison doesn’t seem to deter bad behavior anymore – are we missing God, or are we missing good parenting?