Students want the best of both worlds

The mindset of most University students in the recent survey Religious Beliefs and Attitudes was on a par with those participants in previous surveys or discussions. The overall conclusion remains the same: Like others before them, they want the best of both worlds.

The University students' age varies between 18 and 26 years and the population is made up of 58 per cent female and 42 per cent male, including 750 foreign students. The conclusions regarding the moral dimension might have presented a different analysis if the survey was set for confidence levels of 99 per cent with an error margin of +- 3 per cent for a minimum 50 per cent return rate, with a proportional gender and age distribution.

The Golden Rule is an ethical code that states one has a right to just treatment and a responsibility to ensure justice for others. This is recognised by all cultures. Therefore religious beliefs are incidental to the central theme of this survey - responsibility. The questions about religious beliefs tend to expose a certain amount of hypocrisy in the answers given!

Marriage is uniquely beneficial to society because it is the foundation of the family and the basic building block of society. But... these young people prefer to have a trial period, if possible without a defined time frame. Mind you, the parent's home is still the official lodging. So if the daily chores or those silly and downright boring things that married couples have to deal with day in day out happen to be a wee bit too much of a hassle... then in the most civilised and amicable manner they will call it a day and return with haste to the secure lodgings of their parent's home!

On the other hand, if they manage to surpass the trials of living together and accept each other's intimate needs, then marriage might be on the cards - although it requires nerves of steel, unbelievable courage, and a substantial bank account, to tie the knot. Alas, if the worst had to happen, in spite of the running-in period, the intelligent couple have the answer... divorce! (The tattoo may be a wee bit more difficult to remove.)

Fortunately, abortion was not hijacked to the whims of personal egoism. Although preservation of life must never be in doubt, it is possible that these young people believe otherwise. Who cares about a homicide here and there, between loving couples! The irrevocable statement of the feminist lobby is: "The woman's body is her own". And rightly so, this argument holds true for every cell that the woman was born with. But the mother's womb serves only as a safe place for the gestation period of the foetus before birth. Mummy is not carrying a lifeless appendage; it is not an unwanted invasive lump. If it evolved by consent then the bearer has the moral obligation to protect it against any harm.

Tongue-in-cheek these young people (91 per cent) acknowledge that they are believers. The other nine per cent believe in everything and nothing. For those who declare to be Roman Catholics, do you honestly believe yourself when you demand that the institution should change or modify its teaching and beliefs to accommodate and at the same time encourage your egoistic pastimes?

You have the absolute freedom to live your lifestyle as you deem fit, no one is to judge you, but yourself. But do not demand the blessing or the nod of approval or a pat on the back from those who have consistently upheld beliefs which are contrary to your way of life. If you do not wish to be imposed upon do not impose on others!

Normally such a bargain is sought by those who seek to enjoy one's lifestyle with as few moral obligations as possible but at the same time will hedge their bets for the afterlife. So they devise a personal moral insurance policy just to be on the safe side!