'What is really on the rise is not atheism or deism, but hedonism'

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Enis Doko, a faculty member at the Philosophy Department of Ibn Haldun University, explained to Discrimination Line the crisis of meaning that has become widespread due to globalization and hedonism.

Enis Doko stated that despite advances in technology and medicine, psychological problems have increased and that the reason for this is that people cannot find meaning in their lives, and said, "In the past, people would set goals for their lives such as 'I should be more just, I should be more virtuous'. These goals came from religion or philosophy. Today, goals have changed: To earn more money, to travel more, to eat more... But hedonism does not provide meaning."

Noting that it has been scientifically proven that hedonism does not give people happiness, peace and satisfaction, Doko reported that hedonism leads to addiction and therefore causes depression and anxiety in people who always want more.

Doko stated that true spirituality, meaning and peace are only possible with a strong belief and that Islam can be an important antidote to the crisis of meaning in the global age, and that those who have abandoned religion seek satisfaction in places such as astrology, quantum, new age movements and personal development, but these do not provide satisfaction either.

Doko said that atheism and deism are more common among young people than in previous generations, but that this does not mean that most young people are atheists or deists, and that this situation is not specific to Türkiye and that a similar trend is observed in all Islamic countries.

Doko pointed out that these decisions regarding belief are not always made rationally or logically and that they are also linked to increasing hedonism, and said:

"So the purpose of life is seen as pleasure: Eating, having fun, sex, watching movies... Popular culture also markets this. Social media, advertisements, TV series all show us a hedonistic lifestyle . This hedonistic lifestyle damages spirituality. When spirituality is damaged, even if a person says 'I am Muslim', religion does not play an active role in their life. Only an attachment remains at the identity level. Therefore, I think the real rising trend is not atheism or deism, but hedonism."

Doko pointed out that hedonism leads people to sin, worldliness and superficiality, and that in such a lifestyle, religion becomes a small part of life even if the person believes in it, and as a result, an idea such as "I can enjoy everything in the world, and also worship and go to heaven" emerges.

Doko emphasized that although hedonism is among the reasons for the rise of atheism and deism, it is not the only reason and that globalization is also an important factor in this trend, saying, "In the past, when you were born in a village, the village imam was your religious authority. Today, a young person encounters very different religious interpretations, sects, and even atheist and agnostic ideas on the internet. This process started with television and accelerated with the internet. This explains a similar change not only in Türkiye but throughout the Islamic world. Because the Islamic world was not ready for globalization. Scholars could not develop sufficient responses to modern problems and criticisms from different religions."

Doko stated that consumer culture, like the internet, pushes people towards disbelief and hedonism, and that behaviors such as constantly showing oneself on social media and creating false profiles damage spirituality.

Doko concluded his words by stating that there is a connection between objective morality and faith and that it is not possible to find universal moral obligations without God:

"I'm not saying 'Atheists are immoral' by saying this. But atheism cannot explain objective morality. If we can still say that a crime is wrong even if the majority of society sees it as normal, that is objective morality. Just like the world is still round despite those who say it is flat. Morality has some characteristics: It is not observational. In other words, you will not see the statement 'killing is wrong' anywhere. Moral judgments cannot be proven by experiment. Second, moral qualities are attributed only to conscious, volitional beings. We cannot say 'just' to a chair, but we can to a person. This shows that the basis of morality must be in a volitional being. Third, morality gives us strong commands. Like 'I must not steal'. These are not just conditional commands. They are inalienable obligations. The best explanation for such universal, binding and timeless moral realities is the existence of God."

AA