Transcript Religious Morality

Religious Morality
The interpretation of sacred
writings guided by faith,
tradition and/or reason.
MORALITY IN THE MODERN
WORLD
Area 1: The Relationship between Religion and Moral Values
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Introduction (pp. 1-7)
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Moral values are grounded in religious belief
The interpretation of sacred writings guided by faith, tradition and/or
reason
Utilitarian Ethics (pp. 29-33)
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command them or do the gods command certain actions because they
are ‘good’?’
Religious Morality (pp. 8-21)
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The Euthyphro Dilemma ‘Are actions ‘good’ simply because the gods
Act and Rule utilitarianism
Principle of the greatest good
Kantian Ethics (pp. 34-37)
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Categorical imperative
Universal maxim
Respect of persons
End of
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Aim to pick out the key points yourself…
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Your heading can be:
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Introduction
Inerrancy
Christian Scripture
Buddhist Scripture
Viewpoints Independent of Religious Belief
Introduction
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There are many scriptures that religious people
believe come from God(s).
These scriptures also tell followers what is right
and what is wrong.
Many religious people disagree with each other
because they feel that their scripture is divine.
As well as this there are many different
interpretations of these scriptures within a
religion.
Inerrancy
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This means to what extent the scriptures could be said
to be TRUE (or inerrant).
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Traditionalists/Literalists: the scripture is completely
true with no errors.
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Conservatives: the scripture is mostly true but there
are some factual errors.
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Liberalists: the scriptures are not to be seen as fact
books. The lessons and meaning of the stories are the
important thing.
Christian Scripture
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Some Christians believe that
the scriptures (OT & NT)
were sent directly from God
to those who wrote them
down.
Other Christians think that
they should be seen as a
general guide to how to live
and that some parts of the
Bible are more important
than others.
Christian Scripture 2
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Some Christians worry about
how scriptures are used: should
you take it all as a whole or pick
bits out?
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Other Christians say that the
Bible can be interpreted in
many ways and they are meant
to be understood in the context
of the time, place and situation
in which they were written.
Christian Scripture 3
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Christian Scripture were written a
long time ago (Bronze Age) when
many issues could not have even
been imagined.
This means Christians try to
match up teachings to fit with
modern dilemmas.
This will still leave you having to
work a few things out for yourself.
Christian Scripture 4
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The Guide / Unchangeable Set of
Laws debate.
Jesus stuck to the laws of the
Hebrew bible (OT), but also
‘bend’ the laws when he felt it
made sense to do so.
Also, what’s in Christian
scriptures and what is not isn’t
agreed on by all Christians.
Christian Scripture 5
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To resolve this many
Christians use scripture
but also compare it with
their reason and check
with their religious leaders
or other Christians.
Buddhist Scripture
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There are many Buddhist
scriptures, so there are some of
the same problems here too.
Some scriptures contain sayings of
the Buddha; memories of his
followers; stories about what he
did when he was alive (or in
previous rebirths); and writings of
Buddhist teachers or leaders.
Buddhist Scripture 2
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When trying to interpret the
scriptures Buddhists have the
same problems as Christians:
what did they originally mean
and how can you link them to
modern scenarios?
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Buddhists also disagree about
what counts as sacred
scripture.
Buddhist Scripture 3
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For Buddhists there is
an added problem:
the scriptures are
only to be seen as a
guide.
A key factor in
Buddhism is working
things out for
yourself by putting its
teachings into
practice.
Buddhist Scripture 4
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There are some
Buddhists who don’t
read any scripture: for
them being a Buddhist is
all about learning what’s
right and wrong for
yourself, maybe with the
help of a teacher or
through meditation and
reflection.
Viewpoints Independent of
Religious Belief
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No sacred scriptures! No god(s)!
There are written texts which act
as a starting point to help people
make decisions about right and
wrong.
For example, Utilitarians refer to
the works of Bentham and Mill.
Viewpoints Independent of
Religious Belief 2
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Documents like the United
Nations Declaration of Human
Rights can give people a start in
moral decision-making.
Remember though: there’s no
need to follow anything that’s
written and no writing can ever
take the place of personal choice
about morality.
Viewpoints Independent of
Religious Belief 3
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Non-religious might use
written sources to help
them make moral
decisions, its just that
these sources are in no
way seen as sacred
(this is not to say they
are thought of less
importantly).
Viewpoints Independent of
Religious Belief 4
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…the peoples of the United Nations have
in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity
and worth of the human person and in the
equal rights of men and women and have
determined to promote social progress
and better standards of life in larger
freedom.
UN Declaration of Human Rights
How do you do?
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Peer assessment- Notes swap.
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Work together.
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Fill in any gaps.
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Take a note of questions for me to answer.
MORALITY IN THE MODERN
WORLD
Area 1: The Relationship between Religion and Moral Values

Introduction (pp. 1-7)



Moral values are grounded in religious belief
The interpretation of sacred writings guided by faith, tradition and/or
reason
Utilitarian Ethics (pp. 29-33)



command them or do the gods command certain actions because they
are ‘good’?’
Religious Morality (pp. 8-21)


The Euthyphro Dilemma ‘Are actions ‘good’ simply because the gods
Act and Rule utilitarianism
Principle of the greatest good
Kantian Ethics (pp. 34-37)
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
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Categorical imperative
Universal maxim
Respect of persons
The challenge of moral autonomy: what
do you think?
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