What is the relationship between religion and morality?

Authors Avatar

What is the relationship between religion and morality?

Humanists and atheists see no connection between religion and ethics, arguing that it is possible to be ethical without being religious. However, others contend that ethics and religion are inseparable, a common view held by Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Jews. An atheist would hold the view that morals are independent of God (autonomy.) Humanists hold strong ethical beliefs, however, deny the existence of a supernatural being. A key question here is, do morals come from God? If not, where do they come from? Do religious people stand a better chance of being moral than non- religious people?

Plato asked the key question ‘is x good because God commands it or does God command it because x is good? The view that moral rules are true by virtue of being commanded by God is called the divine command theory.

‘The good consists in always doing what God wills at any particular moment.’ Emil Brunner.  

The philosopher Gottfried Leibniz writes: ‘… in saying that things are not good by any rules of goodness, but merely the will of God, it seems to me that one destroys, without realizing it, all the love of God and all his glory. For why praise him for what he has done if he could be equally praiseworthy in doing exactly the contrary.’

‘To a Christian, to do one’s duty is to do the will of God.’ D. Z. Phillips.

If we are being good out of the obedience of God, then are we being good for the right reasons? Are we simply obeying a tyrant who commands us to obey, rather than making our own moral choices?

Modern day scholars argue that religion prevents possible improvements of human civilization. Bertrand Russell argues this point:

        ‘I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principle enemy of moral progress in the world.’

        Ethics and religion can be linked by three possibilities.

        The first is autonomy. Autonomy is a system that holds that morality is autonomous if it is independent of religion. Its principles are justified on the basis of reason alone. It is not necessarily opposed to religion, and can be held by someone with religious beliefs.

        The second approach is heteronomy. Morality is heteronomous if it depends upon religious beliefs, or it is has been devised that its values rest upon religious beliefs.

        The third system is theonomy. Morality is theonomous if both it and religion depend upon a common source for their principles and values.  

        Some people favour autonomy because they believe that people obey religious rules out of fear of punishment. Therefore, they are not free to make a moral choice, and are motivated by fear. In addition, autonomy would seem a plausible theory because of the diverse religions in society, which all hold different moral rules. A decision could not be made on the basis of religion, and therefore would need to be made on the basis of reason alone.

Join now!

Some people favour heteronomy because it is inevitable that society is influenced by religious views. It could also be said that for such a long time, morality has been associated with religion, and therefore, it is almost impossible to present ethics that is free from religion.

Many Christians believe that social problems can be linked with society, which has gradually moved away from God. E.g., aids, increased abortions, divorce etc.

In addition, it could be said that all religions insist upon a moral code as a central part of their religious life. Even non- religious people when discussing where ...

This is a preview of the whole essay