Just being honest It looks like Malta may be waking up at last. We are starting to feel shock at how far our mania with religion can take us. And, perhaps, some of us have been jolted out of our complacency. I always thought that joining the EU was a good thing primarily because it would tell us some very painful things about ourselves. Or at least that it would force us to ask ourselves who we are in a more vigorous way.

The debate about the symbols to be placed on 'our' euro coins crystallizes 21st century Malta perfectly. Several pundits have already lamented the final choice, for a number of reasons. Some say it's plain vulgar to have an image of Christ adorning a coin (Kenneth Zammit Tabona), some have said that it will simply show the outside world that we're a bunch of bigots (Daphne), others have hinted or implied that they don't quite like the choice (Fr. Noel Grima). And I love the fact that even evangelist Roamer appears to be slightly embarrassed without saying exactly why!

But we may be missing the wood for the trees. Symbols are important and national symbols are meant to capture something that describes the soul of the nation. Now while many people I know are either dimayed by the choice, have simply given up hope or have entirely lost interest in any sort of public debate in the island, the status quo is a largely unchallenged flow of religious waffle. Our values are defined in religious terms, politicians from both sides of the House pander to the religious mass while Europe (after our accession) has been frequently described as a Godless and soulless place. The implication being that secularism is inherently wrong and that we should 'show them' that strong belief is important. While the PN is a serial offender in this respect, the Labour party isn't much better. Both have their fair share of semi-fanatics hell-bent on purifying the island and eager not to lose 'the religious vote'. The language used is also extremely evocative while the sheer output of religious propaganda/discourse in the 'independent press' still astonishes me today. I have yet to see anything like it in the mainstream press anywhere in the western world.

However, it's too easy to blame the usual institutional suspects. And this is my point. While I know several close friends who've more or less abandoned religion and while there are a few indicators that the under 20s may prove to be the generation that shifts the tide, it appears to me that there is still a large mass out there who define themselves primarily in Catholic terms. Maltese identity is difficult to pin down as the recent debate on the euro/ewro has shown. We are divided linguistically, politically and, to a large extent, there's nothing really cultural which binds us together. Saying that you're Mediterranean, that Hagar Qim and the Auberge de Castille are part of your urban heritage and that you like pastizzi, leaves, I think, an important vacuum. This is where religion comes in.

The choice of the statue of Christ's baptism as a symbol on our euro coins, while dismaying for some, is nothing more than an honest depiction of how we really define ourselves as a nation and of how the constant flow of religious discourse by politicians, pundits and priests has moulded that view. Alternatively, it could mean that the only people who still give a damn at all are the most fanatical while the rest have simply abandoned the field. We can only begin to take ourselves seriously and discuss anything in a worthwhile manner when we fully acknowledge this. The masks have fallen and that's a very good thing.

A few days ago, Twanny thought I was joking when I wrote this. This was my reaction:

Imma kif ghidt, din kienet biss parzjalment cajta. Jekk thares ftit madwarek tintebah li l-'massa kritika' ta' pajjizna baqghet ir-religjon. Lanqas l-ilsien ma ghaqqadna wisq, kif taf sew. U l-progett politiku farrakna wahda gmielha. Imma r-religjon tghaqqadlek lil Anglu Farrugia li jerfaghlek fil-festa, lil Roamer li jaghmillek panigierku kull nhar ta' Hadd, lil Gonzi neveu de l'archeveque, lis-Slimiza li tikteb lit-Times "about how I found Jesus" u lil dak li jiktiblek fl-orizzont dwar il-vara fil-festa. M'hemm xejn hazin f'dan kollu (wara kollox hija r-realta') imma ejja nkunu naqra onesti. Ghalxejn noqoghdu nduru ma' denbna biex niskopru l-"identita' Maltija" fic-Cippus u fil-lampuka. U hallikom mill-widnet il-bahar f'gieh l-Iran.  ¶ 9:01 AM