Should religion be replaced with true ethics?

Question

Something that focused more on how human beings should treat each other rather than on what we should do to please god?

Answer 1

And how "should" human beings treat each other? Who is to decide that? Formerly, human beings thought God had decided that. With the belief in God, however, we have lost the foundation of our moral values. There is no reason why we should be "good", except for the fact that we may be prosecuted if we commit a crime. But the law, which defines what a crime is, does no longer have a moral foundation. The only foundation left, which is the truth as history and nature show it, is an immoral foundation: the will to power. Godless ethics shall be Machiavellian, Nietzschean, ethics.

Answer 2

I think the real question here is not one of replacing religion with ethics, but of replacing religious intolerance with ethics. Religion and ethics are deeply interwoven, historically and philosophically.

A person's ethics--their sense of right and wrong--is largely innate. (Watch a small child for a while, and that much is obvious: even a 6 month old knows when he or she has done something "naughty.") So is a sense of justice. Your own experience tells you this.

There are people who embrace an ideology (which doesn't have to be religious -- political ideologies are just as effective) and use it to justify their own hatred or desire for revenge. What you *see* is the "religious war", terrorism, or injustice. What isn't so visible is that the mindset, the impulse to hurt or destroy, came first. The banner is a convenience. That they then persuade or coerce others to go along with them makes them dangerous.

The Nazi war criminals were themselves angry men, wanting revenge, looking to dominate. The Nazi party was their excuse and the breeding ground for their hatred. The Taliban or the Irish Republican Army or Al Quaeda contain the same kind of people.

It is not *religion* that drives such people. It is hatred. This is the key that opens the door to tolerance, understanding and communication, and exposes evil for what it is: a personal, individual, psychotic disregard of any kind of ethics.

In a small way, you see the same thing when someone "finds religion" but instead of becoming a better person (the goal of all religions) he or she just disses you and everyone else who doesn't "believe," and generally turns into a religious snob. That's not the religion at work, that's a personal thing using the religion as an excuse. This is what gives "Jesus freaks" a bad name, for example. The real Christians I know don't practice intolerance.

There can be social cruelty and injustice that demand action (the US civil rights situation before the 1960s, or the British occupation of India). That action is often brought about by religious people (Dr. MLK Jr., Ghandi), because someone with a deep religious conviction tends to have more personal strength to stand up and say "No!" in a loud voice. (This is why governments like China and Soviet Russia are very anti religion. It has nothing to do with the "opiate of the masses" propaganda line.)

Buddhism was and is the single largest civilizing influence in the history of the world. It civilized the far east and, even diluted through Christianity, most of the west. (No, I am not a Buddhist, but that doesn't mean I can't acknowedge our profound debt to Gautama Siddhartha and his followers.)

So, no, I would not want to replace religion. The alternative is usually, historically, very nasty. But we would all be very happy to see religious intolerance and hatred go away.

Answer 3

The problem is that there is no such thing as a universal truth, only relative, so there can be no "true" ethics. Religion is nothing more than a mass money making scheme that employs obssessive compulsive actions (prayer) in order to avoid the anxiety that is a god that they fear, all based upon the beliefs of people. I think that a system based upon right and wrong can exist outside of the bible,koran,torra, etc. Marx would say that religion is the "Opium of the Masses", in that in our true capitalistic society that we felt a void in our struggles in the everyday life so we needed something to believe in, so we created it, so our pain would go away.

Answer 4

God was invented to unite Arab world (Islam) and Europe (Chirstianity). Now everyone is fighting in the name of God. Baudh and Jain religions are greatest but too puritan. Jew or sikh religions are very voilent.
A world culture with a moderate religion having enough personal freedom as required in modern world with a basic philosophy of all religions about treating others with truth, nonviolence and compassion, without any detailed rules and theories of life after death, God and satan etc. is required.

Answer 5

Why even ask a question that wil never occur? It is impossible. And what do you mean by "true" ethics? There are so many ethical theories to choose from that your brief description is really not much to go on to attempt to respond properly to a question of this magnitude.

Answer 6

check out chinese language communism. this sort of atheism seems as non secular as you will get it. they have their little purple e book that's dealt with like holy scripture. they have the social administration. Worship of the emperor has been replaced by worship of the Communist celebration and the chief. different atheists could be socialists or liberal democrats or in spite of. From the outdoors they are denominations interior the religion of atheism. There are Christians who say "i'm no longer non secular I merely compliment the Lord" What they advise is they do no longer look to be affiliated with prepared faith. It does no longer advise that they do no longer look to be non secular. some atheists proclaim that one and all religions are irrational. the respond "atheism is a faith" is genuine somewhat in case you start to evaluate chinese language communism.

Answer 7

A nonreligious ethics can conceivably promote harmony and equality, but you still have to argue for why we ought to strive for those things in the first place. It's hard to do that without some sort of mythical clothing to your argument.

Answer 8

Religion has caused some pretty bad things, but it has also does a lot of good. With a strong religion, comes trust, and a lack of fear. The good outweighs the bad, so we should keep religion.

Answer 9

where will the universal standards come from? who will get to decide what the "true ethics" will be?

when you say, "should" there are a lot of interpretations about what people should do.

Answer 10

religion is something that give syou roots if you dont let it go to your head and start acting orthodox but ethics are different
istead of replacing one with other they should go hand in hand