Religiosity and Social Capital as Prevention of Socio-Pathological Phenomena

According to M. Fforde, the era of postmodernity is characterized by a form of cultural collapse as it reveals many phenomena indicating that human in contemporary society is directed towards “desocialization.” This process represents an overall cultural shift as well as a change in the models of human. These are the main factors of the cultural crisis (Kuna, 2006). This paper is dedicated to an analysis of the issue of religion as social capital in conditions of increasing societal risks. We work with an hypothesis that socio-pathological phenomena are rather determined by cultural and secularization factors. Original Article 52 Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention Vol. 11 No. 4 2020 Theoretical view: Context of a postmodern world The Authors in the paper: Suicide and Society: The Sociological Approach (2019) presented social context of the second demographic transition which has brought profound changes in value orientations and moral attitudes of today’s society. In the microspace of an individual it has become increasingly difficult to create one’s own identity; answer fundamental existential questions; or create a meaningful horizontal and vertical world of relationships and a coherent support system. Instead of an individual’s identity being formed in the process of primary and secondary socialization, it is often deformed, having been influenced by de-socialization of family, school or peer environments. Mesospace of community life has also suffered consequences caused by the lost community (Gemeinschaft) and modernization processes of the industrial and post-industrial society. Fforde describes the concrete manifestations of desocialization in his book Desocialisation: The crisis of Post Modernity using the example of the British society. However, it is important to emphasize that British society is already subject to globalization and universalization in the European socio-cultural space. In concrete terms, desocialization involves a conflict between anthropologies. The facts that man is anchored in transcendence, and that a negation of transcendence in his life has condemned him to a life of emptiness and absolute vanity, are not taken into consideration. Fforde speaks about the false anthropologies that do not recognize the soul within man but accept a model of „material matrix“ to describe man. It means that the model of man as created by God, who infuses a soul to him, or what corresponds to a so-called „spiritual“ model, is constantly denied. The material matrix acts against the community by supporting a lifestyle of selfish individualism and thus weakens the relations between people. The breakdown of ties between people is clearly demonstrated by cultural breakdown: the decay of good manners in politic life; the increase in people living alone; the low electoral turnouts; the high levels of crime and violence; and family crisis (Fforde, 2010)1. As some authors comment, „(...) the negative evolutionary influences of the Western European culture will now be exported, among other countries, to Slovakia as well. There follows his (M. Fforde ́s) argument. The contemporary Western culture is characterized by the expansion of phenomena such as secularization and dechristianization as well as by the dominance of the materialistic view of man. These views have not only replaced Christian understanding of man but they also represent the natural matrix and have a tendency to create convincing but deformed opinions about who we are by choosing one aspect of our self and enhancing it to the level of the superior truth concerning who we are and what we do. The introduced material matrix stimulates selfish individualism; the breakdown of community; consequently, people find themselves in the state of loneliness and isolation. Therefore the material matrix is the main cause of this state − desocialization. This evolution is very negative since desocialization is closely connected with lack of happiness and with mental unease on a large scale. One of its practical consequences will be an increase in the number of people suffering from various psychological problems. These contribute to lower quality of life. However, paradoxically, this problem is not solved by elimination of its roots but by prescribing some anti-depressants. This is only one of the examples of how people try to escape their suffering by recourse to varied therapies which make their illness even worse.“ M. Fforde believes that Western materialism will lead to an export of desocialization to Central Europe. He sees this as a serious threat. He also claims that Slovakia is now in the process of rising exposure to the dynamics of Western culture. The process of globalization and European Union membership contribute significantly to this situation. He also speaks about the risks in the admiration and the uncritical approach adopted by the post-communist countries to the penetration of western culture as demonstrated by an almost automatic adoption of Western lifestyle and values. He adds that after the devastating effects of Communism, Slovakia has to 1 Matthew Fforde, Western Materialism and the Exportation of Desocialization, 23-25. Original Articles 53 Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention Vol. 11 No. 4 2020 face further challenges concerning Christianity and society2. Slovakia was involved with materialistic and anti-Christian ideologies until 1989, and in the same year, it was brought face to face with the Western form of consumer materialism and laicism. However, both forms have a common basis – the reproductive interpretation of man – a rejection of transcendence that is antihuman. According to M. Fula, from the ideological point of view, Slovakia does not face a completely new challenge because it already experienced a fight for man ́s soul during the Communist regime. It can profit from this fight when dealing with the penetration of Western materialism3. It must be emphasized, however, that while Slovakia is involved in the cultural crisis of Western countries, its dynamics are qualitatively and quantitatively different. Consequently, the origins of the crisis under scrutiny are identical in the whole Europe. The issue of desocialization is a general problem extending over all social, ethic, political and religious domains. The spread of desocialization cannot be stopped, but our aim is to outline some characteristics of the phenomenon to help people become immune to it. Desocialization of society must be primarily dealt with within the scope of religion and Christianization – the spreading of Christianity4. In the context of the above facts, it is clear that the egoistic emphasizing of the individual's importance has become a prevailing lifestyle. Too much importance is attached to economic wealth, powerful positions, social prestige and delights. These determinants are closely connected with a searching for individual benefits which logically contradict the existence of the authentic collectiveness. We live in a modern, rushed and over-technological era where the decisive factors of man’s success are to be the best, the first and the only, all at the same time. We want success at any price. However we do not bother about the consequences of this „track.“ We proceed in the community with no regard for other people; without respect for generally accepted rules, social conventions and especially fundamental ethic and moral rules. Thus we exclude ourselves from society as such and do not want to perceive its seriousness. We put ourselves on its periphery, its boundary and so we contribute to desocialization of the present time. One of today's major issues is the question of whether post-modern Europe is undergoing a serious social crisis. This issue is illustrated by undesirable facts such as overconsumption; decay of family; individualistic materialism; relativism of values; loss of interest in public matters. There is another connected question: Are these facts the consequence or the cause of the universal decline of Christian religiosity in Europe, as well as in Slovakia? This thesis is dealt with in detail by M. Babic who adopted a critical approach focusing on the essay written by above mentioned M. Fforde. On the one hand, his article is an analysis of all the phenomena concerning the decline of postmodern society. On the other, as a cultural historian, he tries to point out multiple similarities between the civilizations of the past and the present. Desocialization is therefore closely connected with secularization processes, as well as with the progression of secularization and a materialistic view of man according to the models and theories of postmodern anthropologies. These trends are demonstrated by the retreat of the individual, with his misguided and often materialistic goals, from the real community to his own egoistic and over-individualistic world. In concrete terms, this corresponds to the relativistic understanding of truth; the consumerist approach to love; the instability of alternative forms of collective life; the escape from social responsibility in political parties and other organizations; the decay of family; the increase in the number of singles; the spreading of mistrust among citizens; the state of depression; the prevalent violence; the high levels of crime (Tomko, 2006). 2 Matthew Fforde, Western Materialism and the Exportation of Desocialization, 257, 264. 3 Milan Fula, The anthropological stimuli to solve the crisis of the West, In Slovakia, materialism and desocia -