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Religion and Ethics
Religious violence – 9/11
But its not just ISLAMIC jihadists!
European Christians led three wars against the Muslims and Jews of the Holy
Lands (Modern day Israel) in the 11th, 12th and 13th Centuries.
Its estimated that around
900,000 died in the lead up to
the capture of Jerusalem.
The Muslims soon took it back,
under Saladin in 1187AD.
European Wars of Religion
After the Reformation in Europe when Christianity split between Protestants
and Catholics, war spread throughout Europe. Also known at the 100 years
war, Christian killed Christian in the name of Christ.
The wars last from 1524-1648.
The wars destroyed the economy,
lead to the ruin of society and
millions perished either directly
from violence, or from the poverty,
famine and disease that
followed.
The holocaust
In the Second World War millions of Jewish men, woman and children were
taken to concentration camps, starved and executed for no other reason than
their religious identity.
Gujarat riots of 2002
In 2002, a Muslim mob attacked and burnt a train travelling from the holy town
of Ayodhya, killing 56 Hindu pilgrims, including 25 women and 15 children.
Gujarat riots of 2002
The fallout, and subsequent retaliation of Hindus on Muslims was terrifying.
Official estimates put the Muslim death toll at 790, however other estimates
say it was closer to 1,500. Many women were sexually assaulted by roaming
mobs.
A smaller, but still significant number of Hindus experienced further loss of life
in the riots.
“Terror in the mind of god” (2000)
Mark Juergen-meyer ‘s book charts the rise of religious violence across the
world.
He argues religion provides a uniquely extreme form of violence.
Utterly irrational, theatrical, self- righteous, and designed to bring about as
much human devastation as possible.
(In picture, on right, is the leader of Aum Shinrinkyo, an extreme Buddhist
group who attempted to put poison gas into the Tokyo subway)
EVEN BUDDHISTS DO RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE!!!
Religious violence
All religious groups, often claiming divine sanction (authority from God), have
all at some point committed atrocious acts of mass murder upon each other.
And yet… many claim that their religion is the source of their ethical values,
their spiritual guide and key point of reference for what is right or wrong.
Religions speak of love, hope, charity (Christianity), compassion, selfless joy,
serenity (Buddhism), dharma, kindness, hospitality (Hinduism), virtue, honor,
humility and piety (Islam)
How can religions speak so wisely, and yet be interpreted in such horrific ways
and lead to such awful events?
evg501 & EVG502
Week 2: Religion and Ethics
What is religion? Does it determine what is right?
What does religion do?
A very brief introduction to the world’s biggest religions and their ethical
principles.
What is it to live in a secular society, and what does that entail for religious
belief and practice?
What is religion?
There is not a perfect definition.
Many may think it is something like this…
“Religion is any set of attitudes, beliefs and practices pertaining to
supernatural power, whether that power be forces, gods, spirits, ghosts or
demons.” (Ember & Ember, 1996)
“Supernatural” – Something beyond the material world. As such, it is a
matter of faith.
What is religion?
“Attitudes”
What are our values?
How should we behave to one another?
How do we structure society?
What are ours laws of right or wrong?
What is religion?
“Beliefs”
Who/what made the world?
Why are we here?
What are we made of?
What happens when we die?
What is religion?
“Practices”
How do we celebrate our existence?
What rituals do we use to mark the really important events,
ie: birth, adulthood, marriage, sickness and death?
How do we remind ourselves of the ‘bigger picture’ as we go about our daily
lives.
Questions to think about!
What do you take from your religion?
Why is religion a controversial issue?
What is the relationship between religion and ethics?
Religion & Ethics
“The belief that human beings are made in the image of God influences
moral judgment.” (Preston, 2007, pg 23)
“To know God is to do justice.”
(Jeremiah 22.13-16)
“We are divine souls on a wondrous journey. We came from God, live in
God and are evolving into oneness with God… becoming aware of the Life
energy in all that lives is becoming aware of God’s loving presence with
us.” Subramuniyaswami. S, Hinduism Today, (1996).
Divine command theory (DVC)
The Divine Command theory argues that:
“Morality is based on the commands and character of God, and moral
obligation is about obeying God’s demands”
(Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
“If God is dead, is everything permitted?”
(Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1821-1881)
Socrates and divine command theory
Euthyphro, a pious young man, has made the difficult decision to
take his father to trial because of his father's involvement with the
death of a slave.
When questioned by Socrates about the appropriateness of this
action, Euthyphro claims absolute certainty. He feels his action is
"right" because, among other things, "the gods would agree."
IF something is right BECAUSE God says so, THEN "the Good" is
DEPENDENT upon the will of God.
IF God says something is right because it IS right, THEN "the Good"
is INDEPENDENT of the will of God.
Position against Divine Command Theory
If God commands good because it is good then He bases His decision on what
is already morally good. Moral good exists before God issues any commands; it
is independent of God’s commands.
Why to disagree with DVC?
How could God be understood as ‘good’, if ‘good’ was merely what God
commanded?
How can we understand our own moral actions as ‘good’ if they are merely
self-interested and servile (kiss-ass!)?
ie:
only doing ‘good’ because that’s what the most powerful being wants.
only doing ‘good’ so you’ll be rewarded and not punished.
Do we not do things because they are right and good? Is the desire for an
after-life to have “one thought too many?”
What do all religions do?
Provide social solidarity and identity.
Keeper of wisdom.
Celebrate life and intensify meaning.
Tackle life’s great unknowns
Offer solace and strength in adverse times.
1. Social solidarity and identity
Shared values and beliefs help bind us into a community, provides identity and
instill a sense of fellowship.
1. Social solidarity and identity
It reinforces principles of respect, love, tolerance, patience and understanding,
essential for society to function.
1. Social solidarity and identity
It offers damnation or punishment to those who fail to adhere to good social
principles.
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear
him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:18
1. Social solidarity and identity
It sanctifies social structures, such as kingship, caste or the patriarchal family.
2. Keeper of wisdoms
How do remember what is to be valued?
Holy texts: Quran, Vedas, Torah, Bible, Guru Granth Sahib…
Holy myths: The Life of Jesus, Mohammed, Siddharta Gautama, Noah, Moses,
Abraham, the Ramayana, Prometheus...
Parables and Stories last much longer than rules!
How do we remember what to be careful about?
3. Celebrate life and intensify meaning
4. Tackle Life’s great unknowns
Religions all attempt to reassure us over the great doubts that threaten our sanity.
Finitude – Our present lives are finite. They finish when we die. How do we belong
to something ever-lasting, or instead how do we let go?
4. Tackle Life’s great unknowns
2. Knowledge of Reality. How do we know the world will not suddenly explode,
that this world is not just a dream or I’m just a brain in a vat?
4. Tackle Life’s great unknowns
3. Why is there so much suffering in the world?
Strength and hope in Adverse times
In all societies many people face hardships e.g. natural disasters, poverty,
illness, pain.
The world’s 5 biggest religions
1 Hinduism
2 Buddhism
3 Confucianism
4 Christianity
5 Islam
(Don’t forget Judaism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Wiccan/Paganism,
Ancestor worship and scientology to name just a few more!!)
1. Hinduism
Reincarnation (after death your soul/spirit is reborn into a new body) &
reciprocity (depends on your actions when you were alive)
Intention - selfless action for the benefit of others (karma yoga)
Kindness and hospitality are key Hindu values
Karma & Dharma
Karma (deed/act): the universal principle of cause & effect, action &
reaction. Reap what you sow.
Dharma: moral and social order (ethics), ordinance, duty, right, morality,
virtue, religion, good works.
Ahimsa: one should avoid harming any living thing, and also avoid the
desire to harm any living thing. Ahimsa is not just non-violence - it means
avoiding any harm, whether physical, mental or emotional.
2. Buddhism
Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is called
the Buddha or the Enlightened One
Some people argue that Buddhism was an off-shoot of Hinduism
Buddhist morality: 5 main beliefs
Do not take/destroy life: avoid killing humans & for most Buddhists, animals
Do not take what is not given
Do not distort facts
Refrain from misuse of the senses (do not overindulge - beauty, sexual
activity etc.)
Avoid self-intoxication (alcohol/drugs)
Buddhism: core values
1) Love: towards all creatures
2) Pity: compassion for all who suffer
3) Joy: an unselfish sharing in the happiness of others
4) Serenity: freeing oneself from anxieties of success or failure, & being
equal minded when dealing with others
3. Confucianism
Is a Chinese ethical & philosophical system based on the teachings of
Confucius
Focuses on human morality/right action
Confucianism stresses the importance of education for moral development
The state should be governed by moral virtue than through coercive laws
Themes in Confucianism
1. Li: ritual & etiquette, the acts of everyday life.
2. Hsiao: love within the family, relationships
3. Chung: (loyalty) to: family; spouse; ruler/state; & friends
4. Yi: righteousness
5. Xin: honesty and trustworthiness
6. Jen: (benevolence, humaneness towards others)
4. Christianity
Sources of Christian authority include: Church; Scriptures; Faith; and the
Holy Spirit
Sin & forgiveness (ability to forgive those who wrong you)
Guided by the 10 commandments (as code of conduct)
5. Islam
Shariah: the path or the right way of life
Jihad: the internal struggle that Muslims undertake to overcome their
personal faults, & the struggle to defend the faith globally
Core values: submission, virtue & honor, humility, piety
Human beings have a moral responsibility to submit to God’s will & to
follow Islam
The golden rule
Hinduism: ‘This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause
pain if done to you’ Mahabharata 5:1517
Buddhism: ‘Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful’
Udana-Varga 5:18
Confucianism: ‘Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you’
Analects 15:23
Christianity: ‘And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to
them likewise’ Luke 6:31, The Holy Bible, King James Version.
Islam: ‘None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he
wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam, Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths
Think questions
Do we need to be believers of an institutional religion to be moral?
Are all religious people ethical?
Are all ethical people religious?
Religion in a secular world
FNU is a secular university.
The Republic of Fiji Islands is a secular state.
But what is the ‘secular’, what does it mean for religions and what ethical
issues does it generate?
“pertaining to worldly things that are not religious, spiritual or sacred”.
www.dictionary.com. (2012)
NB: Secularism is not the same as:
Atheism – the belief that there is no God.
Agnosticism – the belief we can not know
whether God exists or not.
Religion in a secular world
Secularism argues that religion and the state, or any institution in the public
sphere, needs to be free of religious control:
Laws are not to be made on religious grounds.
Discrimination based on religion is forbidden.
Everyone has the freedom of religion.
Why is secularism so important?
Religion in a secular world
Fiji is a multicultural society with a rich diversity of cultural traditions. If the
country prioritised one religion it would fail as a democracy.
Restricting freedom of religion would also lead to public disorder as religion (as
we all know) is something for which people are prepared to fight!
Ultimately, it is an issue of mutual respect and mutual interest.
Religion in a secular world
We need to be humble about what we know. All religions contain various and
many wisdoms.
It is truly to our mutual interests to listen to one another; especially on such
matters where there is so much doubt and confusion
The blind men and the elephant!
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen
Religion in a secular world
In a secular society, however, one may be caught in an ethical dilemma –
loyalty to one’s religion and loyalty to the rules of secular society.
In the UK, road health and safety made law that all motorcyclists had to wear
helmets. But this wasn’t possible for Sikhs as they have a religious duty to
wear a turban.
What was their dilemma?
What should the state do?
Religion in a secular world
What does this mean for ethical arguments?
Secularism teaches respect for religions. As such we need to listen to
arguments based on religious beliefs with patience and humility.
However, ethical argument is about persuading someone to your side of the
argument. In a multicultural society, do you think you can convince someone of
the rightness of an action through religious argument if they do not share your
religious views??