4.2 Religion and Morality

Question 1

Key Scholars

Answer 1

Plato, Kant, Sharpe, Dawkins

Question 2

Introduction

Answer 2

One of the key questions theologians ask is where morality comes from. Does morality come from God or is it independent of God and religion?

Ultimately, the question is whether following religious principles make you moral - and whether religion is a good source of morality.

Three main positions on the link between religion and morality:
THEONOMOUS ETHICS - argues that morality stems from a universal source, namely God.

AUTONOMOUS ETHICS - argues that moral decisions are decided by the moral agent - ourselves- independently of religion.

HETERONOMOUS ETHICS - argues that morality is defined by an external source, be it laws, a religious denomination or cultural norms.

Question 3

T H E O N O M O U S ethics

Answer 3

It makes sense to argue that morality comes from God:

1. God is the creator of moral goodness, all goodness in the universe comes from an omnibenevolent God.
2. God is the source of moral knowledge; we must use reason and our moral intuition to discover what is moral (Aquinas)
3. God is our motivation for being and doing the Good; acting morally and following God’s commands brings human beings closer to God and allows us to achieve rewards in the afterlife.

Question 4

Divine Command Theory (a type of theonomous ethics)

Answer 4

According to divine command theory, something is Good because God wills it and commands us to do it.
All moral truths are God given.
All that is morally wrong cannot originate with God and is not God-given.