The social dividends of faith
Blog Post , OnlineWhat if religious people really lived the virtues of their faith? How might the world change?
What if we listened more to our better selves instead of peer pressure?
What if stories can narrow the gap between virtues we profess and how we live?
What if South Africa has lessons to teach the world about social change?
More often than we probably like to admit, it can be challenging to transport religion-based virtues into our everyday lives.
Similar to how an elevated dining experience at a high-end restaurant can be exhilarating but doesn’t lend itself to easy duplication at home, there’s often a gap between the virtues we profess in our places of worship and the actions we may take – or not take– in our families, among friends, at work and in our communities.
“As humans, we’re influenced by context. What we say is virtuous on Sundays in church, for example, may not seem as good an idea when others around us are advocating or practicing other behaviors,” says Garth Japhet, M.D., founder and CEO of Heartlines, based in South Africa.
This extract is from a featured article on Heartlines donor the Templeton Religion Trust's website. It was written by Heartlines CEO Dr Garth Japhet. Click the link below to read the full article on their site.
Featured
