RELIGION AND MORALITY
(i)Examine the views of scholars concerning the idea that religion and morality are linked. In this essay I am going to be looking at all the different view points on why some people may think religion and morality are linked. I will talk about a few things that link them such as conscience, divine command ethics, Kant 's view and Aquinas ' view. Many people believe that morality is based upon religion and the rules written in the Bible and other holy books, although some say that religion is completely opposed to morality and it is wrong to mix the two.
Some scholars believe there are three views on the relationship between religion and morality, one of them being that morality depends on religion.
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Moral opinions are judged against religious teachings.
Even secular society adopts or is influenced by religious moral teachings, for example, it seeks guidance from religious leaders in moral matters such as genetic engineering/abortion.
In conclusion the strongest view to me is Social Conditioning, in which morality is independent of religion. I believe that peoples morality comes from the environment that they are brought up in, and the people around them such as parents and teachers. From a very young age we are taught what is right and wrong, and grow up respecting the law and people around us more than God.
(ii)Comment on the view that religion and morality are not linked. Euthyphro 's Dilemma was that the problem of whether something is good because God commands it, or does God command that which is good. 'Do that God 's love that which is holy, or is it holy because it is loved by the God 's ' – Plato.
Almost all Christians will say something is good because God says so, his commands must be obeyed. A Christian 's dilemma is that either good is a whim or good is something that dictates to God. So if a Christian interprets that it is God 's will to murder, they think they are justified because it is God 's choice.
A.C Grayling believes that religious morality is irrelevant to modern society because what people value has changed. He thinks that modern morality includes a great concern for human rights, animal
Not all people who are religious have sound morals, just as not all people who are atheistic are immoral. In his article, John Arthur discusses why religion does not depend on morality and morality does not depend on religion. Arthur seeks to alter the perspective of those who believe religion is necessary within a society to have a proper moral code. Many believe religion provides a purpose in life, a motivation to do what is right, and a set list of guidelines to follow in order to be a good person.
The Divine Command theory states that” an act is morally required just because it is commanded by God, and immoral just because God forbids it.” (Lecture Notes pg. 42, slide #2.) This theory says that since God has said that it is something we must do to be good, that we must do it. Many religions believe and live by this saying that “it is the will of God or the Gods”. I truly believe that God has done his work and is still at work and since He did create us, He does know what good and evil is and does have authority to tell us what is good.
In Plato’s Euthyphro, a dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro, the nature of piety is discussed. Euthyphro proposes several “definitions” of piety and focuses on the relation of piety to the gods. For one of these definitions, he proposes that piety is that which is loved by all the gods. In reply to this, a dilemma arises; and Socrates asks whether the pious, or holy, is loved by the gods because it is pious, or pious because it is loved by the gods. A similar form of this question asks whether the Good, or good action, is commanded by God because it is good, or good because it is commanded by God. If Euthyphro accepts the
As Nietzsche points out, within society there is a tendency to conflate religious standards with morality. In fact, it is difficult to discuss morality at all without running into issues that appear to be religious by their nature, but which, upon reflection, do not need to be put under that blanket. According to Nietzsche, we tend to mix religion and morality together because that is how we developed morality from the beginning of humanity. In fact, “Nietzsche believes that all
The consequences of accepting that the goodness of actions consists simply in the fact that God favours them are obviously disagreeable. However, the consequences of accepting the alternative also appear unfortunate. If it is maintained that God favours certain actions because they are objectively good, it seems that their goodness is independent of His will. But such a view appears to be inconsistent with the conception of God as the omnipotent creator and sustainer of all that is. It means that there is a realm of moral values which exist quite apart from God's creative will and to which His will must conform. Such a view must inevitably appear blasphemous to all those who believe in God, for it makes God out to be less than He is.
The divine command theory is put forth for people who believe in God. The theory implies that good actions are morally worthy as a result of their being commanded by God. God, for these individuals, include people from the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith. Individuals, because of these propositions, believe that it is their moral obligation to abide to God 's commands; which is, what is morally right is what God desires. This theory states the idea of objectivity between what’s right and wrong. If God makes
However it is absurd to think that such needless killing, raping, stealing, and torturing could be morally permissible. Moreover, to believe that God could have commanded these things is to destroy whatever grounds one might have for praising or worshiping him. And if in accord with the definition of tyrants, justice consists in that which is pleasing to the most powerful? Besides it seems that every act of willing supposes some reason for the willing and this reason, of course, must precede the act.
"Consider this: Is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods?" (10a)
“Is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods?”
The link between morality and human nature has been a progressive reoccurring theme since ancient times (Prinz, 2008). Moral development is a characteristic of a person’s general development that transpires over the course of a lifetime. Moral development is derived by a wide variety of cultural and demographic factors that appear to influence morally relevant actions. Turiel (2006) defined morality as an individuals “prescriptive judgments of justice, rights, and welfare pertaining to how people ought to relate to each other.” Individuals’ moral judgments are frequently considered to be a product of culturally specific controls that provide a framework for behavioral motivations that are sensitive to the effects of gender, education, religion and politics (Banerjee, Huebner & Hauser, 2010). While several approaches have been utilized to examine the interaction of multivariate contributors to fundamental moral differences such as: disputes about family life, sexuality, social fairness, and so on, research has suggested that ideological considerations have provided a potent and diverse explanation for the polarization of contrasting views (Weber & Federico, 2013).
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,
To many individuals, morality and religion are two related but distinct ideas. To be specific, morality consists of principles set by societal norms concerning the distinction between right and wrong and good and bad behaviour among persons. Alternatively, religion involves the relationship between human beings and a transcendent reality or a superhuman controlling power, God. In many societies in the past and present, the idea of God is used to help reinforce moral codes as valuable and vital through rituals and methods of presenting the teachings of God. By many, religion is used to instil fear
In Plato’s Euthyphro, Socrates and Euthyphro had a conversation about piety. During the conversation, Socrates raised a question which was a challenge to the Euthyphro’s definition of piety. Also, this question is a challenge to the theists’ view of divine command theory. I agree with the arbitrariness objection which succeeds giving a good reason to theists to reject the divine command theory. This objection indicates that the arbitrariness of God’s commands contradicts to the fundamental attribute of God, and God’s commands are unable to make an act morally good or bad.
Any beneficial conversations about morality that occur between those who practice religion and those who do not, or those with different religions, must incorporate a common set of ethical concepts and a shared procedure for resolving issues and making judgments, all of which ethics provides. It is also understood that in these conversations moral positions on the issues
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.