Religion and it's application to morality

[Nakosis]

Ethics and morality is one of the evidences given by religious people for evidence of the truthfulness of their beliefs, especially in the debate of whether god exists. Some theists believe that it's not possible to be moral without their god, to varying extents.

However, it seems like the people who are the most religious are oftentimes the most immoral. Hypocrisy runs rampant through many religions. Believers will oftentimes say that one should judge the religion by it's own merits, and not by the actions of some of it's followers.

But here's my question: if the religion/god had any power, wouldn't this not be the case? Sure, you can't say this will or even should be true 100 % of the time, but it should be true to a great extent. So how much does a religion play in the morality of it's followers?

I think when it come to Religious rules they should be consider ethics. Ethics are externally imposed rules for right and wrong. Morals are internal. Morals are internal. Whether you feel a action is right or wrong.

People justify their actions. Whether anyone else thinks it is right or wrong, they at the time in the circumstances, judge the action as ok regardless of how anyone else felt.

Religious ethics, codes of conduct, say what that group should accept as right and wrong, regardless of how one personally feels. To note there is a bit of a cross over where people internally adopt religious ethics as their morals.

They be be fooling themselves a bit I think though. I think a person doesn't really choose their morals. They kind of inherently feel an action is right or wrong. Religious ethic I don't think really changes this internal feeling about morality.

So there are often conflicts between ones morals and religious ethics. Someone who is highly devout will more often let religious ethics dictate their actions. Less devout more often allow their internal feelings of right and wrong take control.

For example how one feels about homosexuality is how they feel morally. Religious belief often has a code of ethics regarding sexual conduct. That code may or may not agree with ones morals.

A person chooses how to act. They will justify it according to morals or religious ethics. Those ethics that align with an individual personal morals is much easier to uphold.

A person doesn't choose to prefer one gender as a sexual partner over another. They just do. That inherent sense of what is right for them may make upholding a set of religious ethics difficult.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Ethics and morality is one of the evidences given by religious people for evidence of the truthfulness of their beliefs, especially in the debate of whether god exists. Some theists believe that it's not possible to be moral without their god, to varying extents.

However, it seems like the people who are the most religious are oftentimes the most immoral. Hypocrisy runs rampant through many religions. Believers will oftentimes say that one should judge the religion by it's own merits, and not by the actions of some of it's followers.

But here's my question: if the religion/god had any power, wouldn't this not be the case? Sure, you can't say this will or even should be true 100 % of the time, but it should be true to a great extent. So how much does a religion play in the morality of it's followers?

I'd say anyone who draws a significant correlation between morality and religion probably doesn't understand much about religion, morality, and/or people.

 

[ametist]

Morality cant be learned through religious texts. Under proper yearning, religious texts and groups help people to know better about god only then their understanding of morality broadens. But not everyone achieves to know better about god so there is no direct link. If group and religious study is off road moral understanding might even diminish.

 

[fantome profane]

. But that's no so easy to determine. Every religion, every denomination within a religion has their good people and bad people. And chances are that the good ones will attribute their goodness to their religion's method. How will you determine how accurate that is?

You are right, it is not easy. And I also agree that the results are a mix. But my point was, and the point still stands, that goals alone is not sufficient. We need to look at more than just the goal.