The Connection between Material Comfort and God Consciousness

As much as we pray to Allah سبحانه وتعالى to rectify our affairs, strengthen the ummah, and free us from our oppressors, we must remain heedful that there are higher purposes underlying Allah’s decrees.

Psychologists Will Gervais and Ara Norenzayan, in their article, “The Origins of Disbelief,” make some important observations. In their section on apatheism (i.e., indifference to and not caring about God’s existence, which is the Islamic terminological equivalent of كفر الإعراض), the authors argue that the more secure and comfortable society is, the less likely they would be God-conscious. They said that apatheism:

“arises from conditions of existential security. It has long been hypothesized that widespread human suffering and threats to human welfare encourage motivational states that make many religious beliefs and practices deeply comforting and meaningful [33,34]. In the laboratory, several interrelated existential threats have been found to increase religious motivations. Awareness of death [35-38], suffering [34], perceptions of randomness and uncertainty [39,40], perceived loss of personal control [41], and social isolation [42] intensify belief in a personal God who offers immortality, meaning, external control, social bonding, and stability. These effects have important real-world implications. One longitudinal study found that religious commitment increased among New Zealanders immediately after a severe earthquake, but only among citizens who were directly affected by it [43]. Religious engagement is far stronger in societies marked by poverty, high infant mortality, short life-spans, economic inequality, and nonexistent or unreliable government services and social safety nets [2,34]. Conversely, as social conditions become more existentially secure, religious belief and attendance decline [2]. Even within the same society, religiosity declines over time as conditions become more secure [2]. Some of the least religious societies on earth are found in contemporary Northern Europe and Scandinavia; not surprisingly, these are perhaps the most existentially secure societies in the history of humanity [44]. Where life is safe and predictable, people are less motivated to turn to gods for succor.”