Who knew you could go away for three weeks and, on your return, find yourself in some kind of time warp?

The billboards and posters around the island warning me that I only have one soul and admonishing me that Christ stands for yes (so divorce should be no), have had me checking the date on my calendar more than once. It’s bad enough that I’ve suffered terrible jet lag because of the different time zones, this week I’ve also had to contend with being in the twilight zone. I have, apparently, stepped back into 1960s Malta when it was standard practice for religion to be used to psychologically manipulate people into toeing the line.

I’ve been told that the Bible bashing started in earnest immediately after Easter, although there were already telltale signs of what was to come before that. While the anti-divorce lobby has been extremely careful to weed out any references to Church and God from their marketing campaign, this has only meant that the void was there to be filled by another group which has no such qualms. The Kristu Iva, Divorzju Le people are busy preaching fire and brimstone, in an uncomfortable imitation of their counterparts in certain parts of the United States. The difference is that in the States, it’s not the Catholics but the fundamentalist Christians who are so insufferably sanctimonious. They are also held at arm’s length and considered part of the loony fringe.

Here, they are very much part of the mainstream – and it is liberals who are made to feel like outcasts. Because, you see, if the cosmic universe decided through a simple fluke that you would be born in Malta, then you are automatically born Catholic, baptised and raised as Catholic and there is not much you can do about it. Even if, as you grow up, you become disenchanted with this religion and, more significantly, if you start to question the dogma and inherent hypocrisy of this religion, you cannot escape the influence which the (Maltese) Church still wields. Voicing such thoughts with people who are blinkered, of course, is social suicide: you are viewed as some kind of curiously bizarre, heathen creature… you simply do not fit in.

That’s quite OK; most liberals have become reconciled to not being part of the mainstream culture in this country, and manage to get along quite nicely by seeking out others who are like-minded, and not bothering too much about what others think. ‘Live and let live’ is our mantra. But there are moments when the quite powerful conservative forces in this country still manage to seep through our consciousness: despite all my best efforts to block them out, I can almost literally feel the stranglehold around my neck. Sometimes I honestly feel like I cannot breathe.

What tipped me over the edge this time was that poster hanging in someone’s balcony saying “we only have one soul” on one side and “no to divorce” on the other, with a picture of Jesus in the middle. It was useless repeating ‘live and let live’ furiously to myself over and over – that reference to the soul was just too much. Who, I seethed inwardly, were these people who felt they were entitled to pass judgement on anyone’s soul?

Contrary to what some might assume, being a lapsed Catholic does not mean a person is agnostic. The Jesus and God I believe in are compassionate figures. As I googled the word Jesus in an effort to find some kind of saying which would express my feelings so that I could calm down, I found the perfect one: “Jesus loves you, but I’m his favourite.”

Mind your own business

Up to now, I’ve always argued that the Church has a right to speak out against divorce. Now that the religious zealots are out in full force, however, I’ve decided that my tolerance threshold has just about been reached. After all, if we are going to bring the destiny of our collective souls into this, then let’s always measure our behaviour in those terms. Malicious gossip and rumours anyone?

In response to all these movements telling me how to vote and hinting darkly at what will happen to me if I vote yes, I figured it was about time I started my own movement. It’s called Moviment Tindahalx (the Mind Your own Business Movement) and of course, it has its own Facebook page.

Admittedly, the slogan “Let me worry about my soul, you worry about yours” (brought to you in the name of Moviment Tindahalx) started off as just one of my typically exasperated tongue-in-cheek status updates. Jokingly, I told people they should repost the status on their own profile if they agreed with it. To my surprise, they did. The swiftness with which people clicked ‘like’ on the fan page made me realise two things – first, that thankfully I’m not alone in feeling stifled, claustrophobic and frankly uneasy by the antics of the self-righteous religious right, and secondly, that what is at stake here is not just whether divorce legislation is introduced or not.

I do hope people are grasping the significance of this referendum vote in Malta’s history.

I do hope they are appreciating that allowing this civil right to slip away from their grasp means that they are turning their backs on everything which makes us a democratic nation.

Today it’s divorce; tomorrow it might be some other private matter in your life which you would not like others to interfere in. Today they’re telling you Christ doesn’t want divorce, next they will be telling you God hates gays. This is not as far-fetched as you might think: witness the event held yesterday by a certain Pastor named Gordon Borg Manche who leads the River of Love Evangelical ministry. He says that three young gay men were ‘converted’ out of their homosexuality when they found Christ. The implication is clear – homosexuality is a negative malady that needs to be ‘cured’. According to his website, Mr Borg Manche “experienced a radical transformation in his life when he gave his life to Jesus Christ”.

The place of his conversion? Houston, Texas, considered the heart of Christian fundamentalism.

What this all really means

Make no mistake, if the religious argument (or rather, the emotional blackmail) wins over the secular one in the divorce issue, any hope of separating Church and state will be gone with the wind.

Of course, the primary culprits in all this have been the politicians. Even while I was away from the island I heard about the infamous Tonio Fenech article in which he wrote, “I am sure Our Lady is very sorrowful that Malta is considering divorce.” Thank you, Father Fenech.

Some Labour MPs are no better. On Friday morning, during the breakfast programme Bongu, Labour Whip Joe Mizzi was waxing lyrical about how important it is to start each parliamentary sitting with the customary prayer. I looked at my TV screen in disbelief, and thought, yep, I’m definitely back in the 60s.

In their rush to prove to us that they are so very holy, I think politicians are forgetting that there are many of us who do not want to hear this kind of thing from them. In any case, all this religious fervour would be more meaningful if I could see some consistency; instead, the morality yardstick is only whipped out when it’s convenient. Lying to the electorate, unethical behaviour and questionable practices in the way the country is being run do not seem to fall under the umbrella of what is right and wrong.

So please, if you are still ambivalent about how you should vote on the divorce issue, stop and think about how you would feel if others tried to interfere in the way you live your life. Whether you are single or happily married, separated or just about to get married, this issue is more than just about the fate of broken marriages.

It is about freedom and liberty – and being able to breathe.

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