Transcript Religion and Ethics - Fiji National University | E

RELIGION AND ETHICS
RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE – 9/11
2001, September 11th, Islamic
Jihadists belonging to an
organisation called Al Qaeda flew
two commercial airplanes into the
World Trade Centre Twin Towers in
New York.
2606 people lost their lives,
however arguably the later fallout
has been more traumatic and
devastating.
The US declared a “War on Terror”,
invading Afghanistan and Iraq
resulting in the deaths of
100,000s.
Al Qaeda remains and continues
with violent attacks across the
world.
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)
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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, selfrighteous, 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 authority from God have at
some point committed acts of mass murder upon each other.
And
yet… many claim that their religion is the source of their
ethical values, their spiritual guide. Their 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?
ETH501
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? – A SOCIOLOGY
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 gain from your
religion?
•
Why is religion a controversial
issue?
•
What is the relationship
between religion and ethics?
•
DIVINE COMMAND THEORY
“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)
The 10 Commandments of Moses
given to him by God at Mt.Sinai in
Egypt.
DIVINE COMMAND THEORY – QUESTION
So divine command theory states:
“what is right, is right, because God commands it”
But could it instead be:
“God commands what it right, because it is right!”
The first means right and wrong is dependent on God,
the second mean right and wrong is in fact something
more complicated…
DIVINE COMMAND THEORY AND ABRAHAM
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Socrates (469 – 399 BC) was a
philosopher from Ancient Greece.
God commanded Abraham
to kill his only son Isaac.
As an obedient servant
Abraham prepared to slay
Isaac in sacrifice to God.
Just as he was to plunge
the knife into Isaac, God
came down and said not
to kill Isaac but sacrifice a
ram instead…

But what if God didn’t say
stop?

Would killing Isaac have
been the right thing to do?
PROBLEMS 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?
ie:
only doing ‘good’ because that’s what the most powerful
being wants.
only doing ‘good’ so you’ll be rewarded and not
punished – go to heaven and not hell.

Do we not do things because they are right and good? Is the
desire for an after-life to have “one thought too many?”
Why is this important to ethical thinking?
WHAT DO ALL RELIGIONS DO?
1.
Provide social solidarity and identity.
2.
Keeper of wisdom.
3.
Celebrate life and intensify meaning.
4.
Tackle life’s great unknowns
5.
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.
“The best religion is the one that gets you closest to God.
It is the one that makes you a better person.”
“Whatever makes you
more compassionate,
more sensible,
more detached,
more loving,
more humanitarian,
more responsible,
more ethical.”
“The religion that will do that for you is the best religion”
The Dalai Lama
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?
Tower of Babel (PRIDE/ HUBRIS)
Pandora’s Box (CURIOSITY)
3. CELEBRATE LIFE AND INTENSIFY MEANING
Rituals at key events, birth, puberty, marriage
and death are there to make sacred the most
significant changes we undergo in our lives.
Often before the ritual, we have one social
position or status, yet after the ritual we have
been transformed into a new member of the
community
Religions often tie in with the seasons,
celebrating the wonder of the world, as a
great gift that has been received.
We are reminded of the wonder of life and
our good fortune to have a place in this
world.
4. TACKLE LIFE’S GREAT UNKNOWNS
Religions all attempt to reassure us over the great doubts that
threaten our sanity.
1. 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?
Starving children in
North West Africa.
STRENGTH AND HOPE IN ADVERSE TIMES
In all societies many people face hardships e.g.
natural disasters, poverty, illness, pain.
Karl Marx’s Conflict
Theory of Religion
(Sociologist)
1818-1883
“Religion is
the opium of
the people”
Karl Marx’s Conflict Theory of Religion
Religion is the “Opium of the People”.
Religion is the opium of the people
because it eases suffering through
prayer and ritual and deceives or
misleads the majority of people,
especially the poor, into accepting their
situation or poverty as being the “will of
God” rather than organizing to change
the social system in which they live.
And he lifted up his eyes on his
disciples, and said,
Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the
kingdom of God.
Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye
shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye
shall laugh.
(Luke 6:20–22)"
Traditional Jewish ‘Siddur’
Jewish Prayer book
“Blessed are
you, Lord our
God, King of the
Universe, who
did not make me
a woman”
Qu’ran – 4:34
“righteous women
are devoutly
obedient… As to
those women on
whose part you fear
disloyalty and illconduct, admonish
them, refuse to
share their beds,
beat them.”
THE WORLD’S 5 BIGGEST RELIGIONS
1
2
3
4
5
Hinduism
Buddhism
Confucianism
Christianity
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


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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
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
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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
Based upon the teachings of the prophet Muhammed
The 5 Pillars of Islam are: Faith (shahada)
daily prayer (salah), fasting (sawm),
alms-giving (zakat) and pilgrimage (hajj).
Other key values include:
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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
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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 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 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!"
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 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!"
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!
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 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!"
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
John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)
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??