Reasons Other than God to be Moral
The Catholic Encyclopedia defines morality as "human conduct in so far as it is freely subordinated to the ideal of what is right and fitting." On the other hand, one definition that Encarta Encyclopedia gives for morality is "good or right, when judged by the standards of the average person or society at large." There are many different definitions of morality but most people would agree that morality is doing the 'right thing' for others or society. Morality is one of the bases of our society; we form our laws on the majority's opinions of what is right and wrong. Long ago, St. Augustine conceived the idea of the separation between church and state, and the idea took hold. This means that the laws for our society cannot be based on religion, but on the desire to have a peaceful, ordered society. So, humanity's overall need for a sound structure in our society gives us reasons, other than the belief in God, why we should act morally. First, our laws act as influences for people to act morally but the general desire to make the world a better place to live in is a reason for people to act morally. If people choose to do the right thing, then it will make life more comfortable for others and therefore help create a relatively p
The church has never affirmed that religion and morality are connected and historic societies such as the Greeks and Buddhists taught total separation between the church and morality. Thirdly, as John Locke claimed, human nature is basically good. Human kind has a desire to live in peace and comfort; we would rather not deal with conflict and problems so we set up a system of right and wrong. These are all examples that show the compassion and loyalty that most of humanity shares towards its brothers; this is a strong showing of morality. Morality in today's society should not be interweaved into religion but merely applied to the changes in our societies that have taken place. In conclusion, religion is a very important part of every society but there is a boundary between the structural "laws" of a society and the religious "laws". Rosenthal did indeed get away with his crime but if human nature was not basically good, he would not have had the problem with his conscience. In "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Judah Rosenthal experienced this plague of conscience when he had his lover murdered. The belief in God is a reason to be moral; the fear of Hell and hope for Heaven is a very good reason to be moral in the religious sense. This will create a "good life and harmonious society. However, the philosophers are happy because they are now free to have their own thoughts (343). If we do something that harms another human being, we have harmed one of our own, and our conscience plagues us. The duty of a human being is to participate to the fullest extent in society while constantly maturing and gaining realizations. Humanity seeks a purpose to life and this purpose can be found while living interdependently with others. However, is this saying that the people that do not believe in a god are not moral, or have no reason to be moral? They do indeed have a reason to be moral; there are societal reasons to be moral.
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