homework on religion?

Question

need real help, i need some resons why religion may be linked to morality (choosing between right and wrong)
and why religion may NOT be linked with morality
i wouldnt ask if i was desperate!!!
please help me

Answer 1

RELIGION MIGHT BE LINKED TO MORALITY BECAUSE-

- Religions provide rules and guidelines as to what's right and wrong eg. the Ten Commandments - "Do not Kill."

- Religions also give ideas about God and what pleases/displeases Him (more "rights" and "wrongs")

- People who are religious may fear the consequences of being bad, such as going to hell, so will try to behave morally correctly.

RELIGION MAY NOT BE LINKED TO MORALITY BECAUSE -

- People who are not religous still know that it's bad to kill someone and to steal etc, so won't do it.

- Some people who are religious still commit crimes, even though they know certain things are wrong.

- Many people don't believe that there will be consequences after death eg judgement, but still try and do good things.

- Some even do good things without any perceived reward.

Hope these get you started!

Answer 2

Take a look at any religious group (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish) and you will see that they all believe in a system of morals and values that are part of their religious teachings. So you could say that religion is one basic human foundation of morals and values. PROBLEM: So many people claim to be religious, yet they twist and pervert their religious system of morals and values to suit their own selfish motives. This is where it gets muddy -- if religion is linked with morality, then how come so many people who claim to be religious don't obey the morals and values that are part of their religious teachings?

It's hard to imagine morality not linked with religion because without some type of foundation there is no standard. There are laws in the United States against killing and stealing, and it could be said that these laws were passed because the majority of the people agreed that they are wrong, but where did the people get that idea? Can a group of people decide what is right and what is wrong without a moral standard like The Bible or the Qu'run? Yes, it's possible, but when you're talking about individual human beings who are deciding for themselves what is right and what is wrong, there's going to be a lot of disagreement about the rules.

BOTTOM LINE: Religion is linked to morality in that the teachings of your religion dictate to you what is right and what is wrong. But again, just because you claim that you are religious does not mean that you are moral, especially if you don't abide by the moral standards of your religious teachings. Religion and morality go hand in hand, but you don't have to be religious to be moral (but having a system of morals and values helps).

Answer 3

There was an article in this months New Scientist that religion is a side effect of the evolution of morality. That morality developed in order to allow us to live as 'pack' animals, giving up resources to others in the group and looking after those weaker and what not. Then as humans became more devolped religion, a believe in things higher than ourselves, developed as a side effect. I would need to go and re-read it to put it better, but you might be able to find the article on the New Scientist website.

Answer 4

In many cultures, the tenets of a particular religion is what determines right and wrong. Eventually they become codified and written into the laws of the land. Example, the Ten Commandments, supposed handed down directly by God and given to Moses to pass on to the Israelites, fleeing from Egypt.

Most Western cultures have adopted these Commandments as the basis of legal definitions of what is "right" and "wrong" behavior.

Some cultures REJECT the idea of religion determining the values of society. In modern times, one example would be the regimes of the former Soviet Union, and, the People's Republic of China. In ideal terms, these cultures promoted the idea that the STATE determines good and bad, right and wrong. Ultimately, if the state survives, it will remain to protect it's people.

Do some research and go from there.

Answer 5

Simple answer: The oldest written "Books" in the history of the world are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.

Through simple logic and Etymology you'll find that the earliest use the the word "Good" (Not in English obviously) is in the Book of Genesis which is the first of the four first books.

So it stands to reason that the word and meaning originated from the first book of the Bible, which makes it Biblical AND religious. So to answer, religion is the origination of Morality, the perspective of what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong.

Answer 6

Christianity gives you the ten commandments, Love thy neighbor as thyself, The bibles says that if you are born again the Holy Spirit guides you into all truth, It also talkes about Love, Joy, Peace, Compassion, Longsuffering, Faith, Hope, all these things come from the Holy Bible, no wonder it is the best selling book of all time. Also most Born again Christians will not commit muder, rape, stealing, lieing, cheating, gossiping, false witnessing, perjury, Christians, real Christians such as Billy Graham don't do these sort of things, also most chiristians don't commit adultry, or fornication or do drugs, of course remember what people claim tobe and what they are will be two different things but most Christians believe that the belief in the bible is directly proportional to the morality of this country.

Answer 7

Why religion is linked to morality?
Religions in the past, generally, have guided people toward the right path. They included teachings such as, loving others, controlling greed, and stopping humans from killing other human beings. They became the moral pillars in many societies. before religions were developed, people had no concept of controlling their animal urges. people roamed around the earth without any purpose. All they knew was to eat, sleep, and kill. Religion brought consciousness to humans.
Why it isn't moral?
Humans have waged wars on othe communities with different beliefs. Such as Christian wars against Jewish and Islam or vice versa. Hindus fought against Buddhism in India. People used religion to justify killing. When Cortez came to mesoamerica, he looted the city and murdered many civilians in the name of Christianity. People burned women because they were thought to be witches. People claimed that they had a vision and angels guided them and told them that some women were witches.

Answer 8

It may not be morality-based because mankind has a need to believe in life after death, also has a need to believe that someone is running the universe. These are not related to morality.

Answer 9

Without religion (a sense or belief that there is something out there, a better or higher than ourselves) we would not have a sense that we could hold ourselves to a higher standard. Thus creating a morality in us that will hold ourselves accountable to a greater existence.

We would have nothing to aspire to, and therefore, morality (holding ourselves to a greater good) would be futile.

Answer 10

Site I Coorinthians for the morality.Genesis Chapter 18 & 19 for an example of immorality.