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Morality and its relation with religion
Religion and morality relationship
Religion as asource of moral value
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Recommended: Morality and its relation with religion
Link Between Religion and Morality
One critique of the link between religion and morality comes from
Professor Chung, who believed he was a moral atheist and that you do
not have to be religious to be moral, and that religion does not
automatically mean that you possess moral authority. His position
argues that religion in fact corrupts a person's morality and makes
them less moral.
Professor Chung first points out that although in our society
religious rules and societies morals are closely interlinked it does
not mean that religious people are qualified to decide the correct
moral action one should take in a certain situation. He believes that
although religious leaders regard themselves as experts they are in
reality limited and not moral at all as they are being lead not by
what the believe to be morally right but by a set of rules the believe
they must follow. Most world religions have deontological morality
systems which they must follow for example the Ten Commandments which
Christians and Jews obey. These are a set of rules that they are told
they should obey throughout their lives in order to live a morally
good life. Therefore in situations Christians and Jews should turn to
these commandments and the other commandments in the form of teachings
in their holy book to decide moral dilemmas. The problem with this
Professor Chung believes is that if a person does base their morality
on strict rules then their moral freedom is being taken away from
them, as they are not free to make a moral choice themselves.
This is indeed true, however a religious believer could argue that
they are morally free because they believe that...
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their moral responsibility and this is exactly the opposite of what
religion believes, so it is self contradicting and again the link is
weakened.
In conclusion it is clear that Professor Chung has a strong argument
against the link between religion and morality. He points out on more
than one occasion that religious moral codes are not only impractical
and often lead to immoral acts, but are self contradicting and often
ignored by religious believers. Moreover he also points out that a
person does not have to be religious to be moral, and therefore how
can religion shape morality if some people are not religious but still
moral. This clearly shows that morality comes from human nature and
not religion, and therefore his argument is very effective, and in my
opinion disproves the link of morality and religion.
In an organized religion debate, Alan Dershowitz and Alan Keyes contended many issues on religion and morality. Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, believed that "morality can be maintained without religion." He also stated that it must be maintained without religion because times have changed. He said that if religion is not separated from state it could have severe damage, such as the Crusades and the Holocaust. Dershowitz believes that there is a difference between morality and religion. When people are moral without religion, they are being virtuous on their own, not because they are afraid of God. He stated that religion should not consist of a Cost-Benefit Analysis. Alan Keyes, a former Republican presidential candidate, stated that religion sets the standard for what's moral. Keyes argued "power only ultimately respects another power," and Martin Luther King Jr. was not a preacher by accident. Dershowitz also stated that not everything in the Bible should be believed word-for-word, even George Washington said "indulge religion with caution." Keyes believed that if state and religion should be separated, then why does the Declaration of Independence contain so much about religion? Alan Dershowitz and Alan Keyes would have argued endlessly about religion's role in society if there were not a moderator to stop them.
What is morality? Merriam-Webster dictionary states that morality is/are the beliefs about what right behavior is and what wrong behavior is
supports the idea that a decision is morally correct as long as it increases and
In Western society and culture, religion and morality have often intertwined and they have reflected their values onto each other. Today it is sometimes impossible to make a distinction between the two, since their influence has transcended generations. In modern Western culture, religion and society preach conformity. In order to be a “good” person, one must conform to the values imposed by the church1 and state.
For many years now, people have always wondered what ethical principle is the right one to follow. These individuals are all seeking the answer to the question that the ethical principles are trying to clarify: What defines moral behavior? The Divine Command Theory and the theories of cultural relativism are two principles of many out there that provide us with explanations on what our ethical decisions are based on and what we consider to be our moral compass in life. Even though these two theories make well-supported arguments on why they are the right principle to follow, it is hard to pinpoint which one should guide our choices because of the wide array of ethical systems. Therefore, what is morally right or wrong differs greatly depending
because they wanted to not because they were afraid to. A good example of this
The necessity of religion is a topic that has been widely debated by many people for many years. The vast majority of the 7 and a half billion people on this earth practice some sort of religion but for what purpose? Whether it’s too give people hope for an afterlife or too fuel their need for contact with others people can list hundreds of different reasons why they rely on religion but is religion actually essential to our wellbeing and and life quality on this planet?
There are many ways that show that we can separate religion from morality in order to show that they are distinct. Morality shows the choices we make deciding right from wrong which ends with one or more parties receiving benefits. Religion is the belief in a being that is supernatural or present in the environment. The followers of that typical religious ideal may choose to follow under that being's guidance or stem off from the primary goal and change what is recommended for that. I can see that the followers of the different types of religions in the world follow their respective beings because they are symbols of authority to them, which means that they should be obedient to that being. Holding power and knowledge over the world and our
Morality and the Bible & nbsp; Both the legal and salvation philosophies of the Old and New Testaments reflect those of the cultures around them, due to much copying and borrowing of laws and ideas. Furthermore, all societies around the world have similar moral and legal codes -- which is certainly not an accident. & nbsp; Interestingly enough, the moral codes of the world's religions bear a striking resemblance to each other, with only minor variations. Religions as different as Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism all have proscriptions against killing, lying, cheating, stealing, etc. This is not an accident, for reasons we shall explore below. & nbsp; Christians may then object that there is something unique about the Bible that makes it a superior moral code.
Nearly all of mankind, at one point or another, spends a lot of time focusing on the question of how one can live a good human life. This question is approached in various ways and a variety of perspectives rise as a result. There are various ways to actually seek the necessary elements of a good human life. Some seek it through the reading of classic, contemporary, theological and philosophical texts while others seek it through experiences and lessons passed down from generations. As a result of this, beliefs on what is morally right and wrong, and if they have some impact on human flourishing, are quite debatable and subjective to ones own perspective. This makes determining morally significant practices or activities actually very difficult.
complete lack of it if the idea of God has not come into existence. To
Moral ethics is the belief that all human beings are born to know right from wrong. We come into this world as good people, but the temptations and challenges in life influence our mind set to as it will. Every person on Earth chooses if they’re to follow through with their life of good or go down the path of bad. “A person’s moral ethics” (unknown.)
the Golden Rule approach. We are told that it is right to be moral. This is an
To answer this question, we must first understand what both ethics and morality are. As ethics is defined as the philosophical study of morality, those who study religion get their moral precepts from what they believe God says should be done. This perspective is not at all unexpected, because all religions apply a perspective on morality. Morality is defined as beliefs concerning right and wrong, good and bad- beliefs that can include judgements, values, rules, principles, and theories. Morals are what help us guide our actions, define our values, and give us reason for being the person that we are.
When considering morality, worthy to note first is that similar to Christian ethics, morality also embodies a specifically Christian distinction. Studying a master theologian such as St. Thomas Aquinas and gathering modern perspectives from James Keenan, S. J. and David Cloutier serve to build a foundation of the high goal of Christian morality. Morality is a primary goal of the faith community, because it is the vehicle for reaching human fulfillment and happiness. Therefore, great value can be placed on foundations of Christian morality such as the breakdown of law from Aquinas, the cultivation of virtues, the role of conscience in achieving morality, and the subject of sin described by Keenan.