Do you need religion to be moral?

Answer 1

You don't need religion to be a clean living person but to get to heaven the bible says it is not by works but faith in God's son who he sent to die for our sins.....He is your only ticket.....no other way it says.....You have to accept God's son Jesus as your savior....He will rule the earth someday and maybe soon......things are moving that way fast....We need REPENTANCE and acceptance of Jesus Christ to get there.

Answer 2

No. Religion copies the best of the morals.

Really, no morals or ethics are needed...what we call morals and ethics are codes or rules handed to us. We are called ethical or moral if we follow the common codes of conduct.

What is needed is consciousness and understanding...with this, we would act appropriate by our own understanding...not morals or ethics need be given.

When you have a small child, you say "don't play in the street!" Later, the child understands why and it has fulfilled the rule fulfilled its purpose. It would be humorous and totally unnecessary to tell a mature adule, "don't play in the street!"

Likewise, when we are told "do onto others as..." or "thou shalt not murder people"...these are rules given to people who do not understand and know any better. If there was understanding, the rule would not be needed.

In same kind, someone who truly understands would not need laws (state, country, or otherwise). If you steal, you will be punished...totally unnecessary with someone who knows better than to steal.

Rules (legal, moral, ethical) are only needed for those who have not grown up enough.

~ Eric Putkonen
http://www.awaken2life.org

Answer 3

The word "Moral" suggest correct upbringing, concious of others, direction. Unfortunately, there are millions of people how have "religion" but a lack of morals. Just as there are just as many people that have "Morals" and practice no religion. But if you actually follow you religion, most of them will form you to be more Moral. But unless you had a strict and moral parents it is very unlikely for you to be moral without religion.

But moral doesn't save you from yourself or your thoughts, nor will they save you from Hell. Only the love of Jesus can do that!

Answer 4

before I followed Jesus I had morals and I have morals now. So to answer your question do you need religion to be moral the answer is no.

That would be saying because Im a christian im better than you and the truth is Im not.

Romans 3:10 says not one is good no not even one meaning we are all equal in Gods eyes.

The difference is that I believe what John 3:16 says That God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Answer 5

Where would your code for morality come from? If your moral code was dependent on your own moral compass, wouldn't it naturally be egocentric, relative, flawed?

I think "morality" is us as humans trying to play God--determining what's right and wrong as it fits with our culture, our circumstances, or whatever we use to justify it at the time.

Religion is just as pointless if it is based on laws and rules rather than true faith, and living in the Spirit rather than in the flesh. That's why Jesus gave the Pharisees such a hard time--they claimed religious superiority but were immoral.

Only through the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ can we even begin to understand how we are supposed to live as individuals, and can we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives to teach us what it means to be moral and apply that to everyday life.

God's Word is absolute truth--His moral laws are just as binding on the universe as the physical laws like gravity. It doesn't matter whether we choose to believe or accept them or not--they are still true.

So I guess my answer to the question is a qualified no, you don't need "religion", you need salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Answer 6

depends upont whose morality we are basing the term "moral".

christians think it is moral to kill doctors who are performing abortions.

muslims believe it is moral to suicide bomb a kindergarten class.

jews think it is moral to watch barbra striesand.

buddists think it is moral to be fat.

Whose morality?

or something more important a BASE morality or core that we find that stems from human nature upon which all these religions were based. the people who created the religions had to get thier morals somewhere.

I would say that the core elements you find are also the core elements of bieng polite and necessary to run society.

Ie: no murder, no thievery (except the tax-man), no urinating on the sidewalk, no assaulting people for no good reason, etc.

I would also challenge a moral code that NO religion seems to have. that of respecting others and thier beliefs even if you don't agree with them. and not trying to forcibly change them.

as athiests seem to have the last one, I propose that those who suscribe to no religion are the ones that are the most moral of all.

Answer 7

if you don't want to be moral you have that choice.
"Religion" is so generalized.

What kind of religion are you talking about?

Who are it's deities? Who are the leaders of that religion?

My religion is Christianity. It is the very basis of morality to ME and everything I want and need. It's my moral code that I strive to live by.

Answer 8

Most people, religious or not, will cite conscience as their guide. Now conscience comes to us as feelings. We feel bad when we tell a lie, for example.

The difference between the believers and nonbelievers is in the understanding of the source of conscience.

To the unbeliever, conscience may come from society (including parents) or evolution or a combination. But whatever the source for the unbeliever, there is no moral authority to the feelings. There is no compelling reason to obey a feeling. With our human capacity for self justification, we will always rationalize altering our moral standard until our own behavior fits the standard. When we rationalize, we just have to convince ourselves.

For the believer, conscience points to God as the One who has moral authority, One who is superior to us. It is very hard to go to God in prayer and try to fool God. It's absurd to believe in God and at the same time think that we can fool Him. Conscience serves as a warning bell. We are to hone our conscience in accordance with God's command to love our neighbor.

Unbelievers accuse Christians of acting out of fear of hell or desire for heaven but the Christian idea is that we recognize that God knows the answers just as our school teachers know the answer to the mathematics questions.

Answer 9

Anyone who says you need somthing to make you moral is clearly themselves immoral- jsut pause for thought over hwo terrible it is to say 'the only reason i do anything good is because i want to go to heaven'! there is somthing called secular morality! that IS morality without religion. following philosophicaln theories like utilitarianism (the greatest good is that which benefits the greatest number) reather than fairy stories.

Answer 10

peace be upon you
from the first day in life , humans learning from what they are doing .
they see the results and then continue in this way.
But there are people know that killing is wrong but they do.
the religion told us about everythings , told us what is right and what is wrong, told us that there are results of all what we do, if you escape from punishment in life , you will not escape in last , Be afraid from doing the wrong , it is for you.
When Mohammed the last messenger came ,he said which mean that " But i was sent to complete makarim ethics".
that mean , we don't object presence of morals but there were wrong habits , worshipping rock ,people control others,.........
i am sure ,if we follow religion , we will complete our ethics and make development in our life and fill the world peace and tolerance.

Answer 11

by man's standards... NO... but as "religion" is a man invention... pick one and follow it's "morals"... untill you get tired of them and then just pick another"religion"... that is all mans morals are... if it feels good... do it

God's moral standards are just a bit higher than man's... and a whole lot harder to meet... and have not changed to fit man's ego... and will not change.