BLOG 4: My Opinions about Faith and Religions

There is a saying goes like this:”Chinese people don’t have faith.” Though I couldn’t tell whether it is true or not, I do think there is something wrong in many Chinese people’s state of mind.

In my opinion, in order to let a society run effectively and safely, there must be two systems. One is the law system; the other is the morality system. Law system exists in all countries in similar form, while the morality systems are quite different.

In many western countries, the morality system is backed by religions. For instance, many people in America and the UK are Christians so that the public values and accepted moral standards are supported by the tenets(教义)  of Christianity. To some degree, this can regulate the certain behaviors of common people where laws cannot reach. I think it is pretty lucky for a race to own a religion because at least majority of people have a clear pattern of moral standards in their subconsciousness.

However, in China, there exists a problem called demoralization(道德败坏). It is a common problem and I think all of us are aware of it. So what are the reasons? From my perspective, first is the poor executive power of the law; second is the darkness of the Party and the government, and last is the lack of faith or religion. We all know most people in China are free thinkers. Many people feel very proud of it, as if it means they are open-minded. However, for some of them, they are not freethinkers, they just think about nothing in terms of what is right and what is wrong. In a society without a main religion or faith, the moral standards are so weak that the law becomes the only thing some people are afraid of. I always think that a man must have something to hold in awe(敬畏) and veneration（尊敬）. For western people, it’s God and Devil; for people in ancient China, it’s all kinds of gods and ghosts and the hell. However, many Chinese are afraid of nothing except laws nowadays. Some people are even not afraid of the law and there are many unwritten rules beyond the law in China. In many situations, people can do bad things without the punishment from the law and the blame from their own moral aspect. They have thousands of reasons to offend themselves and nothing powerful in the perspective of faith could be used to blame them. In Christian’s eyes, anything wrong comes with a price, because God knows everything and everything will be considered when it’s time to decide whether you should go to the Heaven or the Hell.

So what are the solutions? I don’t know. Maybe socialists have some ideas. For me, I think maybe I could be a Christian one day. However, at least, I will try my best to hold the value system of moral standards in my mind and find my own faith.

     At last, I want to recommend a course to all of you. It is called Cultural Cornerstone(基石文化-生命培育课程). I have taken 4 lessons in this course and I found it is really helpful in the building of my characters and value systems. By the way, it is not an advertisement. It’s for your sake.