Should the law reflect the moral or religious values of a community? The matter of religion in relation to law is an age old question that many generations of people have had to face. In fact, in some ancient civilizations, religion was as much a part of the law, as water is a basic human necessity. Leaders were often worshiped as messengers or children of gods, and sometimes even as gods themselves. Religion has shaped the backbone of many a community, and still today, in some parts of the world, it is a force to be reckoned with. However, it is in my belief, that the religious and moral values of an area should not influence the laws that people are meant to abide by. Not only because many people do not share the same religious beliefs (or …show more content…
History, conflict, and ethical values have literally been intertwined since the beginning of time. They are concepts that are essentially interconnected. So tangled is the web they have woven, that they are impossible to separate from each other. Even the possibility of a world where laws are dictated strictly by religious norms can be a frightening thought. However, on the other hand, there is no doubt in my mind, that certain faiths and moral values were once beneficial to the greater good of many different societies. This is especially true, when one looks at the ancient civilizations that the modern world was founded upon. These communities, that were just starting out and becoming something more than simple nomadic hunter and gatherers, were founded on religion. These communities that strived to create a lasting environment they could call home, worshiped their gods of agriculture and fertility, because it was the only way they knew how to explain the …show more content…
However, with the passing of time, came the creation of many other religions and communities. So much so that now, in the modern era, religion is no longer a universally singular thing. Different people have different beliefs and different moral standards. So who is to decide or say whether one god has the right to rule or influence the laws of people who happen to have another religion? Just as one person should not be tasked with too much power, no one religion should be allowed to rule over all, for fear of corruption. People should have the right to decide their own
“ It remains to be noted that none of the great constitutional rights of conscience, however vital to a free society is absolute in character. Thus, while the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion goes a long way, it does not serve to protect acts judged to be morally licentious, such as poly amorous marriages. Children cannot be required to execute the flag salute which is forbidden by religious belief… Similarly freedom of speech, often defended by the courts, does not extend to the seditious utteran...
There are conceivable differences in many religions, especially what people consider as religion and how it should affect government. Rick Galusha (The Changing role of government part 1, n.d.) “There is an inherent difference in my faith and my government.” Through this video he is conveying there are two moral authorities the first is government so people are able rely on the legal system to make solid moral decisions and the second is faith which is another source for us to make quality moral decisions.
It is largely understood that laws are put in place for the good of the communities which they govern. Laws are meant to reflect the wishes of the people and the general consensus is that as a result, these laws should be followed without question. In reality this is not always the case. There are often laws worth questioning whether it be for convenience, personal gain, or deep personal or moral reasons. A historical connection to the latter would be the protection of Jews from the Nazis during WWII and the Holocaust. Hitler created a document outlining a death penalty for any and all persons who were caught aiding Jews in any way, small or large. Despite this law being enforced with dire consequences for infraction, there were still
The Heaven’s Gate religious group is one group in particular that has aroused much controversy in terms of the extent of religious freedom. In 1997, members of this group partook in an infamous mass suicide, claiming thirty-nine lives. There has been an extensive debate as to whether or not the government should have intervened in this group’s practice due to the violence and danger that it obviously posed to its members. However, through the acknowledgment of personal prejudices, an evaluation of coercion, the breadth of violence, legalities, and ethics revolving around this group’s violence, it can be concluded that government involvement in the religious practice of Heaven’s Gate would have been an inappropriate limitation of religious freedom. It would have been legally and morally unjust for the government to prevent the believers of Heaven’s Gate from making independent decisions.
Morality has a strong connection with religion. The connection is so strong that most panels on ethics contain Ministers of God. This scenario therefore creates a natural question, “Does morality depend solely on religion?” The first point to understand in this scenario is the fact that God and religion are not the same. For instance, Christianity and Christ are not the same. The existence of God is independent of us just as the planets of Jupiter and Saturn are independent of human existence. The independence of God from us makes him prone to human weaknesses. For instance, Christians proclaim that their God is god but it is obvious to state that the religion - Christianity in itself has not been good as expected. For instance, when one sees
Human Values and Social Structures It can be said that Golding describes the moral of the book in relation to the scientific mechanics of society. This is found as a major theme in the book, which is actually fear. The boys on the island view this ideal in the form of the "beastie". The "beastie" is an unseen figure on the island, which is symbolized by the dead parachutist. This fear, however, represents the potential evil found in humans.
However, there is a "moral lawgiver" who governs the earth and the universe. His law that we have written in our heart is our compass to live and cannot be redefined regardless of cultural diversity.
For thousands of years, religion has exerted a great influence over economic and political life. Even today religion is called upon to support rulers, contacts and other legal procedures.
In a country where Christianity is the prevailing religion, it is demoralizing to know that Americans are more familiar with the ingredients of the McDonald’s Big Mac than of the most important biblical principals ever written. The Ten Commandments are much more than a few biblical guidelines; they are the basis of our nation’s legal system. Our Founding Fathers went out of their way, time and time again, to acknowledge God four times in the Declaration of Independence, and yet people of this day and age believe that Christ’s words simply do not apply anymore. The Ten Commandments have not only made a lasting impact on the Christian faith, but also lay as the foundation for the legal system we all follow as a nation.
“Provisions of the International Religious Freedom Act.” Facts On File Issues and Controversies. Jan 21 2000:18.
Law is rationalized with evidence, cannot be used to manipulate a nation, protects and ensures the safety of the people, and is parallel with universal human morals. Although religion serves many purposes, it can neither serve nor be the things law encompasses; religious beliefs cannot come above the laws of a country because of their ambiguity and tendency to be manipulated.
In the modern world there are plenty of freedoms, rights and liberties. The United States’ Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech, expression, assembly, and many others (US Constitution). And of course it includes the freedom of religion. There are three main branches of monotheistic religions nowadays, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. All people are free to choose the most comfortable religion for themselves, according to their culture, values, beliefs, and motherland. And they do so. Since the world was created, people had been searching for an explanation for different things, which are around, from the natural phenomena to the miracles. People have to follow someone and to believe that there is a Higher Power which leads them. Because wherever people look, everything has the head, the ruler: a family, school, city, country. Moreover, there is an inventor and creator for everything. So, someone had to create, if not everything, but a starting point and help the world to develop. It is a theory of intelligent design, which states that the evolution takes place, but it is lead by someone well-known. People need to have something that unites them together. That is, basically, the purpose of a religion. But the problem is that every religious organization considers itself the best and the right one. Religious wars and conflicts involve millions of people throughout the history, even against their own will. Some religious groups have done their best to establish their religious rules in different states and forced people to obey these rules (Judd 266). But also one of the issues nowadays is that if there is a denomination of one religion which is doing something wrong, people start to accept the whole religion as wrong, they...
The heartbreaking effects of religious intolerance on society, goes back thousands of years into human history and is even present in modern times. The inquisitions were prisons intended to “convert” and punish people of Jewish and Islamic beliefs or anyone else who disagreed with the ideals of the Catholic Church. During the 350 year time period, an estimated total of around 125,000 prisoners of the Inquisitions were “investigated”, tortured and starved. In 1095 Pope Urban II convinced many Christians that it is not a sin if they kill non-Christians or non-believers.
In the rapid change of the world today, the importance of moral among youth seems decrease drastically among teenagers in the world. The society plays a huge role in misleading the youth with advertisement that seem to ruin the moral values. If the society pays good tribute on the welfare of the future generation, the future of our world will be better. Thus, the importance of moral values among youth also can help them discover and develop into a better person too. Those who value good moral get the privilege of modifying and altering their lives for the better. It helps youth to inculcate and good qualities inherited from healthy youth. General George Washington once said: Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem you own reputation negatively, it is better alone than in bad company. Hence, we can see that it is very importance to instill moral among youth. There are a lot of advantages of maintaining a good moral among teenagers such as: to avoid social problem, to develop a good friendship and relationship, ensuring peaceful country in the future, represent who we are and keeping a positive thinking.