Morality And Religion Chapter Summary

In chapter four the issue of whether or not morality is dependant upon religion is analysed with respect to many different religious theories regarding morality. The chapter begins by acknowledging that there is a presumed connection between morality and religion. In the case of Judge Roy Moore, an advocate for religion and morality correlational relationship, he asserted that God’s law was as prevalent as the state’s law in his courtroom. Moore was sued multiple times for violating the separation of church and state but each time the people overwhelmingly supported his actions. As a resident of Alabama, Moore had the luxury of a conservative christian voter majority to place him back in power each time he was relieved of his office. With 92% of Americans claiming that they believe in God Moore is not in the minority in his belief that religion is a central part of religion however, there are many issues with the claim that what is moral is religious or Godly.
According to the Divine Command Theory, God alone decrees what is right and what is wrong. This theory begs the question (posed by Plato), is something right because
the gods command it or do the gods command it because it is right? On one hand, if something is right solely because it is commanded by God then there is no consideration for innate wrongs (such as something being malicious or damaging) or questioning of motivation. The other option implies that God commands something because it is right, this option acknowledges a standard of right and wrong independent of religion.
The Theory of Natural Law manages to make the water regarding the role of religion in morality even murkier.
Created by the Greeks, the Natural Law Theory states that everything in nature has a purpose. Christians adopted this philosophy by editing the law to state that if something occurs it is because that is what God intended. However, if one looks to the bible to determine what God’s intentions are or even what is natural they will run into issues. For example, if everything in nature has a purpose, that purpose being God’s intention, and the purpose of sex is to reproduce, then abortion is unnatural and therefore morally wrong; yet the bible says nothing to support the claim that abortion is morally wrong. The Theory of Natural Law also conflicts with modern science and is therefore widely rejected with the exception of the Catholic
church.
Religion, if it were the basis of morality, would be a weak foundation at best. There is simply not enough information to base what is right and what is wrong solely on religious teachings. Extinguishing a cigarette in a baby’s eye is not wrong because the Bible says “to treat your neighbor as yourself” it is wrong because it is malicious, harmful, and an unnecessary infliction of suffering onto an innocent victim. Most religious people do not even practice morality in accordance to God’s commands but rather to which religious authority’s version they believe. Without suggesting that the church’s position is incorrect, it can be concluded that morality is a matter of reason and consciousness and religious considerations do not provide effective solutions to all the moral problems that are present.