The Moral and Ethical Decline in the United States - Essay Example

Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, is a worldview that attributes our ethics and morals to a universal standard of right and wrong that is not subject to change over time (Beach 54). In this way, these two opposing worldviews have two opposing positions on the nature of ethics and morality. One holds that morality is relative – the other holds that morality is not relative. They could not be in greater opposition. We can see how these worldviews and their ideas about ethics/morality shape the culture we live in by looking at our past and comparing it with our present. Once this is done, it will be seen that our culture must return to religion if we are to maintain the happy and healthy lifestyle we claim to desire.

     Our culture, if you think about it, has been digressing for quite some time, and recently the problem has become more serious from an ethical standpoint. God is being removed from nearly every aspect of life and replaced with other belief systems, such as humanism or naturalism. The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were written by men who believed in God, men who thought prayer was important, that life was sacred, and that many of our current-day controversial practices, such as homosexuality and abortion, were biblically and morally reprehensible. The reality that a few of our Founding Fathers were deists, rather than theists, does not change the fact that these documents were written by and for generally theistic people. According to John Adams, "Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other" (Beach 59).  Today, however, popular culture has forgotten that our nation was founded, in large part, on Christian principles, and that the Constitution was written for a "moral and religious people." We are, of course, free to practice our own religious beliefs, but our present society has become obsessed with the idea of tolerance. Everything is to be tolerated -- except Christianity. We are expected to honor the beliefs of other cultures, but we are not permitted, in many places, to display nativity scenes on Christmas. A teacher who brings a Bible to school, even if they never open it, is at risk of being fired.  

     Ethically, our society has fallen as a result of this intolerance for anything Christian. And part of the reason for this intolerance is tied very directly to the growing popularity of humanistic philosophy. (Other significant causes have made notable contributions to our moral digression, namely the feminist movement, and affluence -- two important factors that studies have shown to be tied to the continuing decline in church attendance -- but those issues will not be addressed here) (Kurtz 81). People have embraced humanist thought because it allows them to answer the big questions -- "Where did we come from? Why are we here? What is the meaning of life?" -- without even considering God. "We came from an explosion and mere chance. We are here for no reason. We are a cosmic accident. There is no meaning to life because we came from nothing and will return to nothing when we die."

     This is dangerous thinking because life without God is morally relative; which means that people can do practically whatever they want and not feel guilty about it. Anything goes. Sin does not sin -- it is our personal preference, and our sinful actions (so long as they are not too extreme) should be tolerated. What is morally wrong today may be morally tolerable tomorrow. People who reject the idea of God do not believe they will ever have to answer to God for their actions because, according to them, God has nothing to do with us. In the words of Carl Sagan, "Nature is all that is, all that was, and all that will ever be” (Kurtz 83). It can be seen that a rejection of religion has led to a general moral decline of alarming magnitude in society. We must allow religion to be a part of this worldwide tolerance if we are to have any hope of a moralistic society.