Mortality: The Relation Between Morality And Religion

Religions across the globe have their own distinctive rites and rituals, idols, traditions, and values. Each have in common a desire to explain something unexplainable by common wisdom, or attributing some aspect of life to some higher power. Many religions have at their heart etiological stories, which explain some sort of natural phenomenon through the physical manifestation of their deity or deities. From high winds and thunderstorms to love, fertility, and the sun, such religions focus on the physical world in this life. Other religions try to explain the "next" life or the afterlife. These religions usually give a moral code to live by, with stricter adherence to this code offering a better afterlife.

“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

How should we die? Many people have not consider discussing plans for dying and the afterlife. Death can take families by surprise sometimes; therefore, they have to make quick decision and may not have all the details need. There are times when families are able to successful plan for their death and afterlife.

Labeling what morality is can be fairly difficult due to the mass distinctions between everybody’s individual definitions. Being a moral being, looks different for everybody. Regardless of religion, morals are something anyone can obtain in their lives. Religion or a certain culture is not required to be a moral person, morality can be achieved by each and everyone. While living a moral life, one must have define what morality

Religion and morality have been seen as inseparable since the advent of Western thought (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religion-morality/) - religion's fundamental characters being frequently ethical in nature, and morality often viewed as a derivative of religion. However, the relationship is not as clear cut as many people would like you to believe. A very old and important dilemma facing this relationship is the Euthyphro dilemma, discussed in Plato’s Euthyphro. In it, Socrates and Euthyphro argue about the nature of morality outside of a court. Socrates is being prosecuted for impiety, while Euthyphro is charging his father with murder. Although charging your father, even for murder, is frowned upon in Ancient Greek culture,

During the beginning of the eighteenth century, a new era of European beliefs known as the Enlightenment Era revolutionized the Puritan’s philosophical and theological worldview. The Age of Reason instituted a liberal democracy instead of a religious theocracy based on God’s omnipresence. Unlike the Puritan’s prejudged commandments of God, the enlightenment thinkers followed the principles of logic such as the ability to reason, scientific evidence, and observation. Alexander Pope described the enlightenment thinking as “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man” (qtd. In “American” 160). Rationalists believed God created mankind and the universe so man could dissociate himself from God’s presence to develop his own perspective of mortality through his own understanding, experiences, and observations.

The Question of Morality is answered in the Christian's Worldview as " Right or wrong are not relative to man's perspective, but are based upon God's holy standard" (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011) . In contrast, the Hinduism Worldview believes that "morality and ethics(in a practical sense) are how one should act toward itself" (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011).

saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb . . .’

These were handed down by God to govern the ways that people behave. But other religions that are not similar to Christianity have ethical codes as well. For example, many religions have elaborate sets of bans that govern their adherents behaviors. Although religion means something different to those of faith, it carries a immeasurable and persuasive movement of moral and ethical standards that guide the way for humans. While there may be such a wide range of belief systems, religion has a complex set of spiritual and cultural rules and rituals. There are several types of religions in the world today, most of which worships and practices differently. Most of the traditions, beliefs, and rituals these religions are consisted of our

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.

In examining the relationship between religion and morality, there are many equally important topics that should be considered. One topic, nonetheless, that I think is essential in beginning to discuss the philosophy of morality in the context of religion is that which is concerned with whether religion has a significant role in the definition of morality. Religion does have a significant role in the defining and understanding of morality, and this is important for ethics. The aim of this paper is not to argue whether it is possible for one to be moral without being religious, for this I assume is more or less evidently possible, but rather whether a general concept of religion and God is needed in the proper interpretation of morality. I will refer to Plato’s Euthyphro and its focus on piety and the dilemma it generates, in guiding this discussion.

To be moral simply means to do what is right; however, doing what is right is easier said than done. Perhaps if one was a child, one would, to the best of their abilities, follow what his parents demand of him, this would constitute them as doing what is right. Now let us say that the child is an orphan, or does not believe what his parents say is right, should following them still be considered moral, or is it even up to him to decide? Perhaps the child has evolved past parenting all together and therefore needs no more guidance. Defining what is considered moral has now become much more complex. Sam Harris presents the same basic argument of morality in his book Letter to a Christian Nation, by applying it not to a child and his parents,

The concept of life after death has been around practically as long as life itself. Our beliefs about life after death can have a profound effect on our attitudes toward life. Most individual's beliefs about life after death are directly related to their cultural or religious affiliations. According to Montagu, "Of all the many forms which natural religion has assumed none probably has exerted so deep and far – reaching an influence on human life as the belief in immortality" (1955, p.15).

Religion tends to derive preferred lifestyles, ethics and morality from the ideas of human nature. Scholars have studied religions and categorized them into three main categories. These categories include the indigenous religions, transcultural as well as the international faiths.

Morality only exists if we believe in God; therefore if God doesn’t exist there is no morality. There have been so many evil acts committed in the name of God that it is difficult to maintain that a belief in God equates to morality. There are situations that happen every day where decisions are made based off of human rights that contradict the word of God. Morality comes from within, it is an understanding of right versus wrong and the ability to choose what is right. Knowing all this a belief in God is not a requirement for a person to be moral. (Mosser, 2011)