Does religious fundamentalism retard moral development?

Question

It's common for people to tout their religion as a source of moral instruction (sometimes to the point of slandering anyone outside the faith as immoral). But people with very strong religious beliefs sometimes display an alarming willingness to cast aside their morals and do things that would shock the conscience of any sane person.

Terrorism is a good example, both from Muslims and Christians. Or human sacrifice (thankfully not a common event now). Or the support of slavery from the pulpit. Or any "holy" war.

Does the belief that one's moral code is handed down by God, and subject to judgment only by him, discourage one from considering the consequences of one's actions for fellow human beings? And can it lead one to treat those with a different concept of god as less than human?

An example of Christian terrorism: Eric Robert Rudolph, who bombed abortion clinics, gay bars, and the Olympics. Really, how have you not heard of this? He was sentenced not that long ago.

lady_phoenix, it's irrelevant whether or not these things are done based on a correct interpretation of God, or whether the god involved even exists. The fact is that these things are done, by people who claim to be serving a just and moral god. If these people judged the morality of their own actions by their effects on others, would they still be doing such things?

So, wordsforthebirds, you're saying that Rudolph doesn't count because he wasn't a REAL Christian, even though he claimed to be one, justified his motives with biblical quotes, was connected to radical Christian movements, attacked people and places that Christian preachers are constantly railing against, etc, etc, but none of that makes him a "Christian"? You're saying that all the "Christians" who claim their god wants them to murder people get a pass because they're not REALLY "Christian," but other religions can't use that cop-out? I think you're a prime example of what I'm talking about. You don't see people outside your faith as fellow human beings.

Interesting. We've got two so-called "Christians" here, using this question to bash Islam without addressing the subject. Do these answers count as a de-facto "YES"?

Answer 1

People will behave differently when they believe that God is on their side. They will act as if they are above the laws of man, and therefore not subject to the same scrutiny as people that believe differently than them. The more this happens the easier it is for them to lose sight of their morals and values. They dehumanize others and it makes it easier to demoralize them and subjugate them to other undignified means, such as at Abu Graib prison. Just as an example.

Answer 2

Has anyone actually proved that there is an inverse link between low IQ levels and religious fundamentalism? If so, then please state the source here. People may be drawn to religious fundamentalism for a number of reasons - perhaps they were brought up in that environment, perhaps they had something lacking in their lives which fundamentalist religion seemed to fill, or perhaps they saw religion as a force which could be used to affect political change in a way which secular campaigning might not. Fundamentalism of any shade is not a good thing, but the situation is more complex than just saying 'stupid people naturally become fundies'

Answer 3

Why Christians Must Steal From Secular Morality:
http://www.caseagainstfaith.com/submissions/steal_morality.htm

Christians must steal their moral rules from secular morality. They have no choice, as the Bible does not offer a moral system, it only offers a series of contradictory commands and a supposed threat of punishment in the "afterlife" for not following them - a punishment that is given equally to all violators - whatever the sin.

The Bible does nothing and can do nothing towards inculcating moral behavior on its own. Christians must steal from secular moral systems, and then merely graft their 'God threats' on top of this moral system. This is necessary. And the reason for this is simple: there is no morality in the Bible and there can be no morality in the Bible, because the Bible holds that 1) ALL 'sins' are equivalent (destroying any moral sense) AND 2) all moral behavior is immaterial, because works cannot save a person, AND finally all people are damned from birth.

In reality, Christians realize that some actions are more moral than others. They realize that moral actions exist in a hierarchy, and that rape is far worse than stealing a pencil. Yet the Bible holds that all 'sins' are equal, as all deserve the same punishment.

Christians also realize that humans can be moral agents... they expect moral behavior from others, and they view their own children as something to value. Yet the Bible holds that man is worthless, that he cannot be a moral agent, and that his sole salvation comes from grace. However, since Christians realize, implicitly, that all of these these points are obviously, prima facie false, they must steal from secular systems, that hold that 1) man obviously has a value 2) all 'sins' are obviously not equivalent and 3) a person cannot be held to be doing anything 'immoral' without intent.

Answer 4

Moral development is believed to occur through a series of stages, like other development. In Stage 1 of Level 1, people are oriented to obedience and punishment, to fixed rules which must be obeyed unquestionably. This is completely appropriate for small children, and shows an irresponsible lack of thinking in adults. Any religious fundamentalism does stress unquestioning devotion to the rules. Any time there is a sharp chasm between the "us" and "them" of the world, people are prone to see the "them" as less human than the "us." And yet we are all human, and the Bible still says, "There is no partiality with God," (Romans 2:11) and, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:43)

I don't think we can just off-handedly say, "Well, they weren't really Christians" when people refer to those Christians who did terrible things in the Names of God and Christ. That's an issue that requires addressing. It would be fair to say those people were really Christians, and they also were really wrong. It's not fair to try to brush it under the carpet by saying, "Well, they weren't really Christians." If we are truly Christians, we don't need to be afraid of the truth. We only need to acknowledge it and take responsibility for it.
I don't think the rules can truly be understood until they are tried and questioned.

Answer 5

If by Christian fundamentalism, you mean adherence only to the Bible under the rule of "sola scriptura," which privileges private interpretation above the consensus of the Church, yes, it probably does retard moral development. For Christianity cannot be contained in the Bible. As the final verse of John says, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." Accordingly, we need the Church as well as the Bible to help us interpret God's will across the centuries.

The examples you cite of hypocrisy don't negate the validity of Christianity as a moral system.

Our moral code is handed down by God, and that is actually the strength of those in the Judeo-Christian tradition. We don't shake it off like an uncomfortable article of clothing when moral fads suggest we follow the herd. An evenhanded critic of modern culture will notice that many of the the people of this world sacrifice their children, abandon sexual discipline, tattoo their bodies, and drug themselves in a vain search for happiness.

Answer 6

Now they have developed so many other laws in each and every nation whether Christian or non-christian states. of course there is a space in some non-christian states to include some christian biblical rules and conducts as part of the constitution. In India we have such a legal system which speaks separately for Christian Marriage laws, Hindu Laws on Marriage, and so on.

So no body legally cares for any such biblical laws or Quranic laws as such as a whole.

Answer 7

The problem is that all religions and not only Muslims or Christians or Buddhists or whatever, are through the century a big retard to development of moral and mentalities because this act bring benefits to all religious leaders.

Answer 8

Just because someone is a professed Christian doesn't mean that they can do no wrong. We are all sinners, Christians or not. Many times Christians are led astray by wolves in sheep's clothing and they think they are doing God's Will....when in fact it's man will.
Satan even tried to tempt Jesus himself and none of us are perfect like Jesus is. We will all be judged by what is in our hearts, not acts of kindness, charity, hate, or many other things men want us to believe. Those things won't get us to heaven. God wrote what he expects from us in stone....it's pretty simple, just 10 commandments. Too bad that they are all pretty hard to live up to, but as a Christian I strive to live up to them each day.

Answer 9

I think that moral development is distinctive to each individual. I know that a person's religious beliefs can influence their moral code and ethics but fundamentally, it is the individual person who decides on a daily basis whether they will choose right or wrong in any given situation. And I also believe that most people know instinctivly what is right and what is wrong!! Don't you?----Blessings!

Answer 10

Religion makes many DELUSIONAL to the point they begin to take on a mental fixation that they are ABOVE their own species as humans. To a large extent, they also take on the ROLE that their "God" has appointed them to be his guardians and is why you find so many who are fanatics who use violence and murder in their God's name. Morals mean nothing to such a person for they are mentally ill.