The Connection between Religion and Morality - Essay Example

The Connection between Religion and Morality The question of the relationship between religion and morality has always been of interest for many philosophers. Each of the famous philosophers offered his own vision of the issue. However, as noted by Hare, it is necessary to take into account the fact that even philosophers-atheists could not always demonstrate a complete rejection of religion when offering their vision of the features of human moral principles. In particular, Hare argues the idea that "the claim that morality and religion have been inseparable until very recently, and that our moral vocabulary is still deeply infused with this history." Indeed, even the representatives of the Enlightenment showed proximity to religious subjects. In particular, assuming that “the highest perfection of any thinking being lies in careful and constant pursuit of true happiness,” Leibniz recognized God as the guarantor of harmony throughout the world (XXI, 51). In fact, his work provides an opportunity to see that great thinkers retained contacts with religion, which was also reflected in their ideas about the moral and ethical aspects of human life. For this reason, it is of great interest to explore the question of whether belief in the existence of God is the only argument in favor of the idea of ​​the immorality of murder. In other words, the question is whether people who deny the existence of God and who are called atheists can be highly moral people. In addition, it makes sense to consider whether people who practice different religions are able to agree about how to resolve a moral disagreement. This paper is based on the idea that belief in the existence of God is not the only argument in favor of the idea of ​​the immorality of murder and other moral principles. Moreover, the paper argues the idea according to which people of different religions can come to a moral agreement based on the general moral principles that despite the differences are present in almost all religions. In order to answer the first question, it is necessary to analyze the phenomenon of morality. Morality is a set of universal principles that govern human life, distinguishing between good and bad deeds. Thus being a set of universal principles morality differentiates between good and evil. The good manifests itself in acts that bring good (or benefit) for humans, in turn, the evil shows itself in actions and activities that bring physical or psychological pain and suffering to people. It makes sense to analyze the views of those who argue that the belief in the existence of God is the only thing able to justify the immorality of murder. The supporters of this idea might believe that since morality is a set of universal principles therefore there should be someone who creates them. Thus, the concept of morality presupposes the existence of God. This logic might seem to be rather reasonable, however further analysis make one doubt this argument. In particular, if God created man and forbade him to kill other people, then why did he give him physical abilities to do harm or even kill living beings including humans? In addition, why is it necessary to consider murder as a violation of human morality if God created the phenomenon of death? Finally, if the existence of God is the prohibition of murder then why there are diseases, dangerous animals, germs, etc. in the world? Are not they also immoral since they are able to kill many people thus being a source of death and murder. As one can see the idea that the existence of God is the argument in favor of the idea of ​​the immorality of murder is rather unreasonable from a rational point of view. In fact, it is based on faith rather than on reason while the modern society needs rational justification of all that has value for it. In addition, an obvious argument against the connection between God and morality is the fact that currently one can observe a lot of wars, bloodshed, and violence around the world while the majority of the population of these countries recognize God as the creator of moral principles. In fact, a persons morality is not defined by his/her faith in God. It is defined by person’s willingness to follow the universal moral principles as the guarantors of the civilized and humane society. Given the rational inconsistency of religious ideas of morality as Gods creation atheism is able to provide more powerful arguments in favor of the immorality of murder. In particular, these arguments may come from the fact that murder is evil because it is associated with other qualities that characterize evil. Murder is violence. Murder is cruelty. Violence and cruelty are evil in themselves and therefore murder is evil that cannot be allowed n human society (Swinburne 8). This point is deeply analyzed by Swinburne in his article God and Morality thus expanding the capacity to address the issue within the properties of human moral behavior and actions. For this reason, one can state that people who do not believe in the existence of God can be no less moral than those who say that they believe in God. Atheists are able to conduct a moral way of life and recognize the prohibition of murder since they can understand morality as a set of universal laws mandatory for the harmonious existence of society based on cooperation between people. Morality is not the result of religion, but on the contrary, religion can be the result of morality. In particular, the answer to the second question mentioned in the introduction allows one to see this. As mentioned earlier the question of whether people who practice different religions are able to solve the problem of a moral disagreement is also of particular interest to modern philosophy and theology. Despite the fact that there are many religions and each of them has its distinctive features, it can be argued that in general moral principles of all religions are rather similar to each other. For example, murder is forbidden by most religions. It is viewed as a violation of Gods will who while creating mankind prescribed people to live in peace and do not cause harm to each other. The fact that despite the differences, various religions demonstrate similar moral prohibitions regarding the murder may also be a proof that morality as a set of universal principles stands above religion. Despite the religious differences, cultures and societies demonstrate a commitment to universal human moral principles. To sum up, religion asserts that morality is impossible without belief in the existence of God. According to religion, lack of belief in the existence of God makes morality impossible. In particular, it is expressed in the fact that the prohibition of murder loses its validity which can be guaranteed only by faith in God. In fact, the analysis of the issue shows that it is not necessary to believe in the existence of God in order to accept the immorality of murder. It can be explained by the fact that morality as a set of universal principles can be independent of religion and sees its basis not in the idea of God’s existence, but the idea of ​​the necessity of moral principles for the preservation of stability and harmony in the human society. For this reason, atheists can be no less moral and decent people than believers. In addition, the fact that morality is the universal phenomenon independent of religious differences is able to solve the problem of moral disagreement between different religions. Works Cited Hare, John, "Religion and Morality", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006. Web. 23 Aug. 2014.   Leibniz, Gottfried W. New Essays on Human Understanding. Ed. and Trans. Peter Remnant and Jonathan Bennett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print. Swinburne, Richard. "God and Morality." Think 20.7 (2008): 7-15. Print. Read More