When preaching and rewarding morality go opposite ways!

I recently posed a few uncomfortable questions on Facebook. Are our hearts not increasingly consumed by envy and resentment? Have lying and deception not become commonplace in our dealings? Have bribery and shirking responsibility not become normal in our offices? Do injustice, exploitation and violation of others' rights not surround us? My argument was simple. We cannot collectively practise behaviours that our religion explicitly condemns and simultaneously expect prayers, pilgrimages and outward religiosity to rescue us from their consequences.

A friend responded thoughtfully. He agreed with the diagnosis and suggested that the ultimate solution to get rid of those evils is to inculcate fear of God and firm belief in accountability after death. A person who genuinely believes that no wrongdoing escapes divine accountability possesses a powerful internal mechanism of restraint. But is fear of God sufficient to explain why societies become honest, just and trustworthy?

The international evidence makes the question difficult to answer affirmatively. Many societies with relatively low levels of religious observance nevertheless demonstrate high levels of civic responsibility, interpersonal trust and respect for public rules. Conversely, intensely religious societies can suffer from corruption, dishonesty, nepotism and exploitation. Clearly, morality is shaped by something more complicated than professed religious belief. Part of the answer lies in social conditioning.

Our moral education begins long before we understand theology. Children learn values not primarily from sermons but through repeated social norms. A child who sees everyone waiting patiently in a queue learns that human beings are entitled to equal treatment. A child allowed to question authority respectfully learns that power does not determine truth. A child who sees lost property returned learns honesty before being able to define it. Conversely, children who are constantly compared with wealthier, brighter or more successful children would most likely establish their worth through conspicuous consumption.

Morality, therefore, can emerge partly from enlightened self-interest. I refrain from deceiving others because I want to live in a society where others do not deceive me. I respect the queue because I want my turn respected. I protect another person's freedom because my own freedom ultimately depends upon the same principle. But childhood socialisation is only half the story. The adult society must reinforce what the child was taught. And here lies perhaps our greater failure.

Imagine teaching a child that corruption is shameful and then taking him to a gathering where a corrupt official receives the greatest respect because he is wealthy and powerful. Imagine teaching honesty in textbooks while children observe that those who manipulate the system often prosper. The lesson society actually teaches is then very different from the lesson written in the textbooks.

Human beings respond not only to moral instruction but also to social incentives. We observe who receives respect, who acquires influence, who gets invited to important gatherings and whose children get desirable marriage prospects and jobs. If unexplained wealth brings prestige rather than embarrassment, society is silently teaching that wealth matters more than its source. This is why moral reform requires more than sermons.

We need morality at three interconnected levels. First comes the inner conscience: religion, philosophy and personal reflection can create an internal sense of accountability. Second comes social conditioning: families, schools and communities must turn abstract virtues into everyday habits. Third come institutions: laws and accountability mechanisms must ensure that dishonesty carries costs rather than rewards.

Religion can strengthen all three. But religion itself becomes ineffective when reduced to rituals disconnected from social conduct. The Quranic emphasis on justice, honesty and protection of others' rights makes precisely this connection between faith and behaviour. A society's true moral code is not found only in its sermons, textbooks or declarations of faith. It is visible in whom it respects, whom it condemns, what it rewards and what it tolerates.