It is conventional wisdom that religion and morality are inextricably linked together. But is that really true?
Many people define themselves, at least partially, by their faith. This makes sense. What you believe is often learned from family members. Your place in the community might very well be based on attending religious services.
Naturally, people of faith tend to think that what they believe is superior to other faiths or beliefs. After all, if they thought something else was superior, they would believe that instead.
That sense of superiority sometimes takes the form of moral superiority. Your religious text teaches the proper way to behave and to act if you want to be rewarded when you die. The rites that you follow and the sacrifices you make lead you to a better life.
And yet, we all know religious people who are not, in fact, morally superior. They might do horrible things, in service of themselves or justified through their religion. Being religious, by itself, is not enough to be a good person.
However, there are moral lessons to be learned from any religious text. Religious leaders do have wisdom to impart. Religion can teach us how to treat our neighbors, our family, and our community.
Is it true that religion and morality are linked? If so, then, how can it be that each faith and each sect thinks that it is the one, true path? They can’t all be right, can they? And what about people who do not follow any particular belief system?
Related questions: What does spirituality mean to you? Are science and religion compatible? What beliefs do you have that might be wrong? What do you believe?
For the religious, religion and morality are interconnected. Their god or gods dictate what is right or wrong, and to varying degrees, believers try to follow what has been identified as right while resisting the temptation to do wrong.
I am an atheist. I approach my moral code from a different perspective. I believe that, in most cases, humans are social beings. Leading an ethical life requires actively striving for a world that promotes greater individual and community pleasure, happiness, and contentment while minimizing pain and suffering. In addition, today’s individuals and communities owe future generations the same level of pleasure, happiness, and contentment that we enjoy while ensuring that our decisions today do not increase their pain or suffering.
Someone once said, “All politics is law, all law is ethics, all ethics is religion.” But maybe not?
I remain interested in the possibility that a purely material world view will allow for the “evolution” of moral decisions adequate to sustain a civilization. Or, left without “a God” can we then rule by (moral) majority opinion? That sounds democratically sensible, but what if your truth is not my truth, and her truth is not his truth, and their truth is not our truth? Is my optimism misplaced? Can we still arrive at a common good, even if we no longer seem to agree on a common bad? And, given that religion might arguably be the problem, should I find solace in twentieth century atheistic regimes?
And much more interesting to me, as we consider the positive or negative influence of religion on morality, is our initial avoidance of religion altogether. What is that thing that drives us into modern cocktail party groupthink in which even religious interest is implicitly, if not explicitly, ridiculed? Are all the injustices committed by religious people over the centuries our primary motivation for not considering religion for ourselves? Is the entire problem with “them,” or do I know myself well enough to understand that a large part of the problem lurks within me and my brokenness as well? And is this what I will not face?
It can be disturbing to finally “see” myself. But what if that is the beginning of a new thing, something I even long for more than I realize? And if God (if there is one) is a loving God (if there is one) who has penetrated human history and is deliberately in pursuit of relationship with me, even calling me by name, what the hell am I supposed to do about that?
So, in the end, is the best religion the one kept at arm’s length from the human heart?
Thank you Lee, and Question Asker
I believe that morals are a result of religious teachings, either in our current situations, from our past or by others beliefs that have influenced us, even if we don’t follow a particular religion.
The truth is most religions have leaders that pick and choose what they want their followers to believe, as well as their personal agendas.
The Bible teaches that there is one true religion. It also shows how to recognize that religion. (See link)
https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=502015177&srcid=share
If anyone would like to learn more, feel freedom to contact me.
I believe that morality comes from our evolutionary origins which led to us living in social groups. And I believe religion comes from the same place. So in a sense, they can be related, but only loosely. Religions pack a whole lot of power plays into their morality, and these can be either pro-social or anti-social.
Religion is not a good basis for a society that evolves and improves. Its goal is stasis, in most cases. Much better to start from rationality.