Precisely. People need to believe in something bigger than themselves, have some sense of values and a sense that there is something bigger than their own concerns, like other people, the community, the nation, the humanity, the environment. If they do not have that sense, they are likely to succumb to mindless consumerism, individualism or gangsterism. That can happen to everyone - just look at the former Yugoslavia: neighbors who lived and worked together in peace suddenly were at each other's throats when the concept of socialism and nationhood disappeared. There are hundreds of examples like that.
That is why people need civilization, shared ethical norms and manners, sense of community and responsibility for that community and their environment, and some form of religion (preferably secular, but that is my own preference). Otherwise they will start descending to gangsterism and barbarism, which is a slippery slope, starting with a "broken window" and ending with genocide.
But to see the connection, you have to have a behavioral model in mind, one that emphasizes the role of social interaction in individual behavior. I do have such a model in mind, even though it is not a "politically correct" one because it cuts across the left-wing and the right wing ideologies and tropes.
Wojtek