Is religious belief NECESSARY for ethical decisions and/or behavior? Are Atheists as ethical as/more ethical/less ethical than Christians? Why or why not?
There are two topics that I chose not to talk or “take position” on; religion and politics. I understand that individuals have their own beliefs and opinions about these topics, but I chose not to even get in discussions about these subjects. I think that they can be very “touchy” conversations that I don’t care to get involved in. Sometimes it seems that people try to sway you into believing that what they say or believe is right and there is no other way to think or be. I will take the hit on points for this topic, but I don’t want to get into discussion about it. Sorry!!!!!!
I do not feel that is necessary to incorporate religious beliefs in all ethical decisions or behavior. I feel it appropriate to consider your personal feelings about medical treatments and procedures and not necessarily the views of a person’s church. Just because the church believes a certain way does not mean that the individual MUST agree to be part of that church. This is the beauty of having control over our own minds and thoughts... we can think and feel anyway we want to. Gone are the days of branding people witches and heretics because they were thought to have unconventional ways of thinking. What is considered ethical in one’s eyes may not be the same as their neighbor and there is nothing at all wrong with that. This is how our society learns and evolves into the next phase of humanity. Just because people do not believe in God or a higher being does not mean that their ethical views are any different than those of a Christian person. I would never discount the ethical view of someone that had different beliefs from mine. As a human race we are all diverse in appearance and in mind. I believe in God and I don’t always agree with the religious views of my church. For example I feel that abortion is OK in times of rape and incest. The victim never consented and never asked for a pregnancy to happen to them so why should they suffer with the reminder every day for 9 months. My church on the other hand feels abortion is wrong in every instance. God forbid I would ever be in this situation I would not necessarily consider my churches beliefs but rather my individual values instead. I think this is the world’s way of keeping a balance between science and religion. I can’t recall which book it was in but I think one of Dan Brown’s novels either Angels and Demons or The DaVinci Code had a section where a priest fathered a baby thru in vitro. This type of procedure is wrong in many religious views but having sex when you are unmarried is also considered wrong. The priest wanted to be a father and did so by not sacrificing his vow of celibacy but did break the views of the church by using this procedure. An Atheist would not consider God or higher power in this type of situation so I do not feel by any means that they are any more or less ethical than a Christian.
I don’t believe that religious belief is NECESSARY for my ethical decisions or behavior. I think that for certain people it might be but not for me. It’s a great approach to human spirituality and in some cases gives meaning to the way people live and behave. I think as long as you’re a good person, with a good heart and try to live life as a good person then its all okay. I don’t think that Atheists are any less ethical than Christians because they don’t believe in a God. You don’t NEED religion to know how to be a good person, everyone sort of has a universal knowledge on what a “good” and “bad” person is and how they behave. However, I think its great to believe in a higher being and have faith because it lets us have a stronger self believing that there is someone watching over us and maybe even protecting us. I think it also gives people a sense of belonging. And if people are happy with that, let them have that. People can also express themselves through religion, with prayer, rituals, meditation, music and art, and that’s great if that makes them happy. I was baptized a Catholic, I went through First Communion and Confirmation, but that didn’t make me the good person I am today. For some people it might and that’s great. Some people think that religion is a “way of life” but I’m not living my life by the Bible and I always wear my cross around my neck, I just know how to be a good person, and I think that’s really all it comes down to. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re Atheist, Agnostic, Catholic, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, if you live your life as a good person, then you’re on the right track.
In my opinion religious belief is not necessary for ethical decisions or behaviors. For some people religions is a very important part of their life and follow exactly as the bible says but for other people it’s just something that they believe in. You don’t have to be from a certain religion or even be in any religion at all for a matter a fact to do what is right. I think that the good in you is what makes the ethical decisions. Some people have different opinions about things and for the most part that has nothing to do with their religion. Both Christians and Atheist have killed knowing that it wasn’t the right thing to do but they still did it for various reasons that not all have to do with their religious beliefs. Another good example is the controversial topic of abortion. The Catholic Church is pro life and does not agree with abortion at all. I’m sure that many Catholics have had to make the decision to abort even though it’s not what their church would had agreed on. There is a lot of diversity in this world. Not just diversity in the way we look but our feelings and the way we feel about certain things. The good thing is that we all have the right to have different views even if it’s not what other people might thing is ethical and you don’t always need to agree with your church as well. Atheists are not more or less ethical than Christians. I think that a church or religion does not make who you are or what your decisions will be. At least that’s the case for many people. It’s up to each and every person to evaluate the situation and do what they think is the right thing to do.
Personally I believe that religion doesn’t play a HUGE role but it can someway have an affect towards the person. If a person doesn’t want to receive medical treatments because of religion then so be it. What I find ironic are people who aren’t religious, who are dying ask and pray for God’s help. Now why would a patient do that? Is it because they believe God will have their sins forgiven and repent? What if the patient is underage and doesn’t know. Here’s a good example. Suppose a child is very sick with a certain condition and will die without treatment. However the parents REFUSE to give treatment to their child. Now to me that is just somewhat inhumane of their acts. Who decides who dies and doesn’t? Does God really have a saying in this? Nobody knows for sure exactly. What may be ethical for a doctor may not be for the church and vice versa. Personally, I think religion should be put aside when it comes to medical decisions. Christian or Atheist are no more ethical than to each other. Just because an Atheist doesn’t believe in high power, doesn’t mean they’re more or less ethical. This principal goes for the same as Christians. So my take on this situation is that religion should not have a role when it comes to medical decisions. Who are we to decide who lives and dies? Although “miracles” do happen, it is still unknown for sure how they work. Was it through the power of medicine? Or was it God answering prayers?
I feel to ask if religion is needed to make ethical choices is like asking the chicken or the egg question. Ethics I feel are the reason why religion exists you search for a religion that answers to your ethics and then make it your own. So no I feel you don’t need religion to make an ethical decision at all but at the same time ethical choices are easier to make with religion since the lines are clearly defined with religion that choices or this choice while send you to hell or heaven based all on how you act. Funny that how no matter the religion or ethics it’s still your choice. Ethics are what we feel is right not what we believe are right they seem the same but they are not. You can feel righteous about a task even if you believe it was wrong that is an ethical decision while you can believe what you don’t feel such as ever merciful. Religion and ethics are intertwined but not completely joined you can have one without the other so you can make ethical choices with no religion backing. Or that is what I “Feel” And “Believe” anyway.
Now are atheists more ethical then Christians? I will for the sake of Pc and all that and choose to interpret Christian as religion and go from there. As for the question no I say a thousand times no for both sides of the argument. An Atheist a true Atheist can perform acts so vile even I can barely stomach then all in the name of there is no after so enjoy the here that they embrace, While Zealots or “True Believers” can put women and children to fire because their god demands it. Religion or its counterpart do affect ethics and the choices a man or woman makes but rather puts blinders over our eyes and limits the choices we see before us. An Atheist does not care about ethics good or bad they are all man-made creations that we hold so why should they follow them they effect nothing are nothing but words people say to make them feel good about themselves, while religious people try to fit all choices into their doctrine even if said doctrine is nearly a 1000 years old and was written in a politically charged storm of an environment. But it is unfair to say each is bad look at Blessed Mother Teresa, may god rest her soul, she has honestly done more good in 45 years then can ever truly be counted it is my firm believe that she has truly shaped our world and for the better I say all by believing in Catholicism to the point she did, and while I have no opposite examples for atheists I am sure they exist. So basically what I am saying is Religion or Atheism it doesn’t make you a better person it just shape the choices you see when cross roads of ethics happen.
I think that religion is unnecessary in trying to decide what is right or wrong in medical ethics. I think that since the world is diverse and there are too many different beliefs that one religion can not control what everyone else believes. It is an infringement of freedom of religion to say that something is wrong when only a portion of the population believes whatever it is being said. But when talking about behavior I think that religion plays a part in it because the things that you believe in make you who you are. So what you believe is what you choose to do and how religion plays a role in that is like a catholic person may say oh its wrong to have sex if your not going to have kids, but many other religions say its ok to have sex and not have any intensions of having kids. So should but necessarily doesn’t have to play a role in behavior. The way that some one is taught may not even have an effect of their behavior towards something’s. Like many Mormons cant drink much caffeine or alcohol and many choose not to follow saying. But I still believe that in most cases religion does play a huge role in how someone behaves. I think that Atheists are as ethical as Christians because Atheists still have values and what is considered what and wrong, but that is what they believe. Since they believe there is not god then they have one less thing holding them back from deciding what they believe is wrong or right. Since we all have different beliefs I think that everyone has a right to chose what they want to believe in even thought some may frown at what they chose. Christians are as ethical to because those who do choose what they think is wrong or right. Yet its still tricky when trying to talk about what the guide lines fir trying to decide what’s consider right in medical ethics. Because there are too many beliefs and view points that one religion or belief shouldn’t be able to pick what it is wrong or right. So I think they both have a right to decide what they consider ethical.
In my personal opinion I believe that religion is not necessary for ethical decisions or behavior. I say this because growing up at home I heard very little about God or any other religions for that matter, until I was 17. As I was thinking about this question, I thought of decisions I had to make when I was younger, that dealt with choosing from wrong to right. In making those decisions I don’t remember any religious belief s intervening in my decisions. I do think that since many religions do portray living a good life, that if someone is religious that when making an ethical decision religion does come into play, but I do not believe it is necessary. I actually think that religion has the least role in making decisions. Mainly our emotions and the beliefs we were raised with are the ones that dominate our decisions. I don’t necessarily think that atheist are more or less ethical than Christians or vice versa. Because there are many types of Christians with different beliefs such as there are atheist with different beliefs. But if I have to choose between the two, I would have to say that atheists are less ethical than Christians. I hold this opinion because many Christian sects read and follow what the bible says. It is a guideline for many Christians as to how we should live our life, and how God wants us to live our life. For example, specific ethical behaviors originate in the Old Testament’s Ten Commandments. Since atheists believe that no higher power exists, they don’t really follow any guidelines other than society’s rules. Many of society’s rules do have the same type of relationship as God’s rules for Christians. Though many could argue stating that atheists can look at all aspects of ethical situations, and though they may not reach a conclusion, they had spirited ethical debates. Yes that might be true, but where does that leave them. They aren’t able to defend a side and be totally for or not something, for example, abortion or murder. Unlike Christians, who though take ethical positions based on what God says is right or wrong, at least have an opinion about something and are able to defend their position based on their beliefs.
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the definition of ethics is the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment. Personally, my religion is influential in the way I decide what is right and wrong, as well as how I conduct myself; however, I do not believe that religious belief is necessary for ethical decisions or behavior. First, humans have an innate sense of what is right and wrong that spans all cultures, religion, and time. For example, murder, lying, stealing, and cheating are considered wrong no matter the time a person lives, the religion they practice, or the country they live in. Even tribes who live in isolated places and are completely cut off from the rest of the world, seem to hold to these beliefs of right and wrong. Second, aside from what humans naturally seem to believe is right or wrong, there are other sources that help to mold our sense of right and wrong. Yes, religion plays a roll in molding that sense of right and wrong for some people, but as with all things that we’ve talked about in this class, there is a spectrum. There is everything from the very religious on one end, to atheists on the other and everything in between. However, our morality can be affected by other sources also. We learn from our parents a belief system from the time we are little. Then our education plays a roll as we learn about the world we live in. We can look to the past and at the present, to see how morality has changed, and what the effects have been. In addition, we also have our own personal experiences; how we treated others, and how others treated us that have molded the way we see right and wrong. All of us have our own unique perspective of the world that is beneficial when it comes to making ethical decisions. I’ve talked with a few people who are atheists, in the course of my life, and what I’ve found is that we basically believe the same things; we’ve just taken different paths to come to the same conclusion. I think the key to being able to make ethical decisions is based not on whether a person is religious or atheistic, but on whether they are willing to have an open mind and to find common ground that both can agree on. Or at least “agree to disagree”, and be willing to see the other person’s point of view and respect it. And let’s face it, there are both very religious people and atheists whose ethics I wouldn’t pay two cents for, and there are those in both groups whose ethics are beyond reproach.
Religion is a very important part in society with multi faceted purpose including but not limited to lifting the spirit of human beings,counseling and facilitating financial aids to the needy and building moral values and guide lines for a society to live by.Yes, religious believes are very necessary to make ethical decisions that are very important to our people.Through out history religious believes like Christianity and others lied out the foundation to moral values and ethical standards for different society to live by.forexample, christianity forbids adultry, killing including the unborn child, stealing some body's property, and intoxicating etc.These are good moral values we as a society learn from our believes.You can track any kind of moral values and ethical considerations back to some kind of religion. For example, the US constitution was first written by our founding fathers based on christian religionReligion can teach us to obey the rules of God and we can be morally grounded.Geligion just makes it easy and available to learn naturally what is wrong and what is right and the conseqences of not following the higher authority meaning God.religion is just one of the tools people use it to drive their moral values and ethical considerations.
no. I think ethics and the sense of "right or wrong" is instinctual, but we tend to look to the person next to us for reassurances and that may be why people do turn to religion. I was raised in an evangelical church until i was 13, i can tell you that atheist are no more morally right than a religious person. I do feel that Christians hide behind their bible to justify their behavior. they do horrible things, they beat their spouses and children, they do drugs and drink, they commit adultery and find a way to again hide behind their bible. I would have to say i am not gonna do this entry correctly. I believe you can be a good person, with or without religion, but you always need a good set of ethics to go with it.
I have to admit that this was a hard issue to address. The reason being is that I am Christian. However, our society has something in common…we are not all perfect or better than one another. We live in a complex world with so much diversity. Nevertheless, we must appreciate the fact that we are all part of this diverse culture whether we like it or not and we have to come down to a common ground in one way or another. It may not happen all the time but the majority of us try to accomplish this goal in one way or another. In this diversity there will always be different conclusions reached when faced with the same evidence that is involved in a particular situation. Since we are a diverse world we all have different expertise, virtues, beliefs, ethical standards, conduct and morals. With this being said no there is not a definite fine line that Atheists are more or less ethical than Christians and vice versa. We all are not perfect individuals whether we are Christians, Muslims, Jehovah witnesses, Atheists, Pastors, Physicians, Scientists...and the list just goes on. As for the question of religious belief being necessary for ethical decisions and or behavior? Well there should be out of fairness I think this question should also reflect science as well. The reason why I say this is because not every single dilemma that occurs in the different segments of our society would involve religious belief expertise as well as a scientific method in order to come to a sound and ethical decision. As in the behavior aspect of it, well we all have different standards and that’s what makes our ethical decisions unique in one way or another. Since we are not perfect individuals, our decisions may not always be appropriate. I guess the concept to remember is that our ethical decisions can reflect our individual characteristics: areas of expertise, virtues, beliefs, ethical standards, conduct and morals. Another basic concept to keep in mind is that no matter what you or I believe in ethics will always apply to everyone. Everyone is driven by their unique individualized virtues. We all have different attitudes, dispositions and character traits that enable us to pursue ideas along with our many endeavors in our life that we have developed or try to achieve throughout our lifetime. Our other individual characteristics that shape our ethical decisions are our honesty, courage, compassion, fairness, self-control and prudence. This is not developed over night and sometimes some decisions we are not able to handle or are not ours to address. I have found that the development of particular virtues that a person has set forth for themselves takes a lot of self discipline when building, changing and maintaining them. I guess you can say it is like a habit, some are good and some are bad. Another aspect that shapes our ethical framework of decision making occurs as we mature and age is through our many associations that we have encountered or maintained in our lifetime. The many instances and examples could be are: family upbringing, church, type of education/knowledge, experiences with other people. In conclusion, it is these various individual characteristics that governs ethical decisions among individuals or groups such as physicians, scientists, lawyers, school teachers, mothers, and fathers that does not make anyone of us absolutely more ethical than another when making every single ethical decision that we encounter.
Religious belief should be a huge influence of any ethical dilemmas. I believe that religious belief or a belief in a higher authority refrain us from doing harm to each other. Like any other dilemma in ethics, religion can influence it to a certain extent because there are religious beliefs that do harm other human beings. For example, there is a group of people who believe that sacrificing infants are sacred. This is a wicked practice that cannot be justified by religion. In this case, I think we have to use the categorical imperative where we raise the maxim to the universal level and see if it is moral or not. I think we have to use religion and the categorical imperative side by side to judge whether one ethical behavior or decision is ethical or not. I believe God put His goodness in us by a form we call conscience. However, God put it in us to as a warning system but not as a restraining system. Our conscience tells us what is good or not but most of the time we choose to ignore it. This is where the ethical system of Atheists comes from. Even though they do not believe in God, it doesn’t mean that they are not ethical because it doesn’t matter if they believe or not, God or their conscience is still within them. In conclusion, I believe that religion should be paired up with the categorical imperative to make ethical decisions.
I do not believe that religion is necessary for ethical decisions. I am myself an atheist. I have watched the videos by Richard Dawkins and I do agree with him. I think the teapot analogy by Russell is a brilliant and logical argument. There is the criticism that a teapot is a physical thing that can be seen but God is a metaphysical thing that can’t so the analogy doesn’t work. But we have found and have proven plenty of things that cannot be seen and those we have not seen up close and personal yet we can’t prove or disprove God. I think atheists tend to be more ethical than religious people because to believe in religion one must suspend reason to believe, one must be illogical. Once that step is taken, we have seen how people then go to the extreme and kill in the name of their religion. Of course, there are people on the entire spectrum who are unethical, do immoral acts and are considered “evil”. I’m saying in general are atheists more ethical then religious people. Now, not all religious folks are like that and there are plenty that do good deeds in the name of their God and are good people. However, how many atheists do you see bombing churches because they think it’s wrong? I haven’t heard of any and couldn’t find any while doing research. The reason I believe there aren’t any is because atheist use logic and reasoning in making moral and ethical decisions, not the so called word of a god as their moral compass. Now of course some argue that suicide bombers are political and not religious but they bomb something because they don’t like it i.e. the subway in Great Britain because they don’t agree with how that society is run, but they don’t like the way that society (and ours) is run is because of their twisted interpretation of the Quran and use it to justify their actions and whole heartedly believe they will be rewarded in Heaven by God for killing themselves and others in the name of their religion. Religion is used as a moral guideline but there are several problems with using religion as your moral basis. Firstly, for the argument to be debunked the other parities simply have to say that they do not believe in your God or God at all. Secondly, there is no proof God exists, and no documentation of the validity of the religious texts, which can be interpreted differently. Also, religious texts do not answer every conceivable ethical dilemma, especially the newest debates contained in our society today. What does a religious person do then, after a leap of faith on God, on the validity of the holy texts and now must interpret the texts themselves or follow what others say the Bible says simply as sheep? Yes, the Bible says “Thou shall not kill” but religion isn’t the only reason why murder is wrong. God’s existence cannot be proven and even if I were to take that leap of faith that He does, how can I trust religious texts? They have been edited, and handed down and written after the events have occurred. If I did decide to take that leap of faith, I would have to leap further to accept the religious texts as true. However, that quite frankly is too much room for error when it comes to ethics for me. Say I believe in God but not in religious texts, how would I then decide my morals and ethics? I would use logic and reason as I do now. Why wouldn’t God want us to use logic and reason to make such decisions? I have a problem with believing in a God that is illogical just because He is God and He can be. Seems to me like God is depicted as very emotional and human in religious texts, why? It says we are created in His image and he does display human behavior, but why should we as humans give in to emotion and illogic? Not to mention the horrors contained in the religious texts and how people now use them as a justification of murder and other crimes. Logic and reason gives no affordance of such. Religion seems to cause more damage than good in the arena of ethics and morals. After all, how many have died in the name of their religion, from the crusades and our present day abortion bombers and suicide bombers? It’s not just one religion either; all three Judeo-Christian religions have the same flaws and difficulties. There are plenty of arguments against the evils the religious texts are against, like murder and rape without the use of religion. The Bible has a very warped morality in itself, with the punishment of rape being just one example. In the Bible it says “If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city”. -- Deuteronomy 22:23-24. Now some argue to pick and chose from the Bible your morality and not throw out the baby with the bathwater. But how does one pick and chose, if several parts of my religious text is wrong, what does that say about the remainder? Logically, it doesn’t make sense, which is the biggest problem I have with religion. Theoretically speaking, if I took a giant leap of faith in God and find not a solid morality contained in my religious texts, then where do I turn? Or if I took an even bigger leap to believe in God and my holy text but they do not logically make sense and I do not believe that it is ethically right to treat prisoners of war as Numbers 31:15-18 states “And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves”. Now why would I be against such treatment? Why, because of logical and reasonable arguments. Where does that leave me? With logic and reason, that’s what I use now and I see no reason why I should use religion instead.
I do not think religion is necessary for ethical decisions or behavior. I think in order for a person to be ethical you need to be somewhat compassionate and kind. The word ethical means to have set morals, respect for peoples feeling, to know the difference between right and wrong. I think education has a lot to do with ethical decisions. We as children are taught to believe in or to act a certain way. Our environment and our social influences make a great difference in how we act towards other people as well as behavior. Religion is just another taught belief. I believe religion can teach a person as well, or about ethics, but religion itself does not make a moral or compassionate person on its own. I as a child ,as well as most I am sure involved in this blog, were raised to a certain point to know you don’t beat up little girls without consequences, or you don’t sabotage somebody else’s work in college, at least I was . I went to church for the first time at the age of 20 years of age. Raised protestant I guess, but my point is I know the difference between right and wrong. And most certainly would not poison the neighbor’s dog because it barks too loud. I think a person’s natural temperament has a lot to do with compassion and is just another addition in developing into a compassionate person. Social influences and upbringing also determine whether a person is likely to be ethical. Knowing the consequences of making unethical and immoral decisions, we are not born to hurt others nor are we born to believe in religion. We are taught. I do think atheists are more ethical than Christians. Basically Christians believe in god and atheists believe that religion teaches our children false information or stories that did not happen. Atheists believe that you have a right to believe in your beliefs. Christians believe if you don’t believe in god you are a sinner and it is the only way. Neither belief teaches you to do wrong or preaches to go shoot your neighbor. I believe it boils down to your environment early in life. In general I do believe atheists, as far as the true meaning of the word ethics practice there beliefs more. Respecting the beliefs of others and respecting and allowing change in the world as long as it does not inflict or hurt others. Christians have been inclined to impose there beliefs on others, however, and historical events like the inquisition demonstrate that Christians are not always very ethical.
I think that religious beliefs are not always necessary in some cases. In some cases I belief that religious groups shouldn’t get involved because they don’t take in consideration the safety of the person. For example they won’t care if a pregnant woman is risking her life by going on with pregnancy, when she could have an abortion and be safe. In that case I think that they should see that the abortion is necessary to save the mother’s life. In those cases they shouldn’t be allowed to decide whether the mother decides to have an abortion to save herself or if she wishes to keep on going with the pregnancy. I think that they should always go with the safety of the person first.
I think religion is useful in making ethical decisions when you are not sure what to do. I do not go to church routinely nor am I a bad person but I do look to my religious beliefs when I am usure. I do not believe that religion makes you more ethical than a person who "does not believe" because regardless if you follow your religion or not, you can still do wrong. Just because you go to church all the time and read the bible to follow "God's word" does not mean you are doing what he wishes. I do not believe that the bible nor the church have all the answers for the problems we face now a days. I think the church interprets the bible in a way they believe will help solve a ethical question. Athiest will use ethics they believe to resolve ethical issues in a way they see fit instead of a religious person telling them what is ethical. Religious or not everyone makes bad decisions and it should not reflect on what they believe rather what they saw fit and believed to be a good decision at the time. There are people who killed in the name of their religion and still they made a bad ethical decision...maybe if they were athiest they would not have commited a sin. There are also athiest who killed and since they did not believe made them feel maybe less guilty because they had no one to answer to besides themselves. Religious or not, I believe ethical decision are made by a person based on how they feel personally.
Personally, besides the belief of the necessity of having a society that relies on ethics and morality, I believe that ethical consideration do not need to necessarily rise from religious body or neither do I believe that it’s automatically qualified as the good choice because of its source being religious organization. For example, Islamic nations claim that people in America are unethical and immoral and their solution to this is, either convert each and every one of us to Muslim or destroy us (I don’t know how that could be moral). Believe it or not, I believe ethical consideration can even rise from an atheist. First of all there are many religions that are so disintegrated and inclined towards competing with each other, and in various controversial topics each and every one of them seem to provide us with completely different perspectives. Who do we listen to?. I am not saying we should completely revoke any ethical consideration that rises from religion because of its variety but I am saying we can’t listen to each and every one of them that claim to be religious. Although God forbids argument, religious people will put themselves in a argument for competition with others and fail to realize that God only wants him to send the message written in the Bible, so they fail to exercise the true divine expectation. Even at the level of the Pope or other leaders, speech about how wrong other religion are or hate and judgment of other people prevail abundantly, which God does not want them to do. So I personally believe that we can’t say something is unethical because the Pope or Prophet Mohammed says it so because it clearly shows no one can truly and completely represent God. So if a religious person can be as sinful as the atheist, then he or she can be equally immoral or unethical. If for example judging is unethical then we are all judging and therefore we can’t act holier and tell the other their wrong doings. But I believe as humans we all share a central point of interest, and perhaps wisdom that enacts how we act and make choices in our life. Major issues like killing others might be easier to agree upon but for touchy subjects like stem cell research, despite millions of ethical issues that have risen through years, we have chosen to continue applying and practicing what we have found reasonable and beneficial. Otherwise we would have failed to be medical advanced because religion or other body might simply suggest the complete dismissal of animal research. So choosing to go with a simple use of stem cell from abortion does not overweigh the crisis of those dying, perhaps suffering from diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. So, I believe the central point of any controversial issue should still be ethics but must be shifted towards weighing its tremendous benefits and applications with plain claim of ethical issue from various sources.
A religious belief s not necessary for ethical decisions and/or behaviors. Religion is man made and people tend to get brain washed thinking that they will not go to Heaven if they do or act a certain way. Ones own self has control if they don’t well then they need help. Atheists are humans too just because they don’t believe in God doesn’t make them bad people. As humans we have the ability to make good and bad decisions. I feel that some take their religion too serious and feel that their religion and beliefs are right, which makes them very judgmental. I think it depends on the ethical issue at hand whether or not a subject is more or less ethical then the other.
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There are two topics that I chose not to talk or “take position” on; religion and politics. I understand that individuals have their own beliefs and opinions about these topics, but I chose not to even get in discussions about these subjects. I think that they can be very “touchy” conversations that I don’t care to get involved in. Sometimes it seems that people try to sway you into believing that what they say or believe is right and there is no other way to think or be. I will take the hit on points for this topic, but I don’t want to get into discussion about it. Sorry!!!!!!
I do not feel that is necessary to incorporate religious beliefs in all ethical decisions or behavior. I feel it appropriate to consider your personal feelings about medical treatments and procedures and not necessarily the views of a person’s church. Just because the church believes a certain way does not mean that the individual MUST agree to be part of that church. This is the beauty of having control over our own minds and thoughts... we can think and feel anyway we want to. Gone are the days of branding people witches and heretics because they were thought to have unconventional ways of thinking. What is considered ethical in one’s eyes may not be the same as their neighbor and there is nothing at all wrong with that. This is how our society learns and evolves into the next phase of humanity. Just because people do not believe in God or a higher being does not mean that their ethical views are any different than those of a Christian person. I would never discount the ethical view of someone that had different beliefs from mine. As a human race we are all diverse in appearance and in mind. I believe in God and I don’t always agree with the religious views of my church. For example I feel that abortion is OK in times of rape and incest. The victim never consented and never asked for a pregnancy to happen to them so why should they suffer with the reminder every day for 9 months. My church on the other hand feels abortion is wrong in every instance. God forbid I would ever be in this situation I would not necessarily consider my churches beliefs but rather my individual values instead. I think this is the world’s way of keeping a balance between science and religion. I can’t recall which book it was in but I think one of Dan Brown’s novels either Angels and Demons or The DaVinci Code had a section where a priest fathered a baby thru in vitro. This type of procedure is wrong in many religious views but having sex when you are unmarried is also considered wrong. The priest wanted to be a father and did so by not sacrificing his vow of celibacy but did break the views of the church by using this procedure. An Atheist would not consider God or higher power in this type of situation so I do not feel by any means that they are any more or less ethical than a Christian.
I don’t believe that religious belief is NECESSARY for my ethical decisions or behavior. I think that for certain people it might be but not for me. It’s a great approach to human spirituality and in some cases gives meaning to the way people live and behave. I think as long as you’re a good person, with a good heart and try to live life as a good person then its all okay. I don’t think that Atheists are any less ethical than Christians because they don’t believe in a God. You don’t NEED religion to know how to be a good person, everyone sort of has a universal knowledge on what a “good” and “bad” person is and how they behave. However, I think its great to believe in a higher being and have faith because it lets us have a stronger self believing that there is someone watching over us and maybe even protecting us. I think it also gives people a sense of belonging. And if people are happy with that, let them have that. People can also express themselves through religion, with prayer, rituals, meditation, music and art, and that’s great if that makes them happy. I was baptized a Catholic, I went through First Communion and Confirmation, but that didn’t make me the good person I am today. For some people it might and that’s great. Some people think that religion is a “way of life” but I’m not living my life by the Bible and I always wear my cross around my neck, I just know how to be a good person, and I think that’s really all it comes down to. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re Atheist, Agnostic, Catholic, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, if you live your life as a good person, then you’re on the right track.
In my opinion religious belief is not necessary for ethical decisions or behaviors. For some people religions is a very important part of their life and follow exactly as the bible says but for other people it’s just something that they believe in. You don’t have to be from a certain religion or even be in any religion at all for a matter a fact to do what is right. I think that the good in you is what makes the ethical decisions. Some people have different opinions about things and for the most part that has nothing to do with their religion. Both Christians and Atheist have killed knowing that it wasn’t the right thing to do but they still did it for various reasons that not all have to do with their religious beliefs. Another good example is the controversial topic of abortion. The Catholic Church is pro life and does not agree with abortion at all. I’m sure that many Catholics have had to make the decision to abort even though it’s not what their church would had agreed on. There is a lot of diversity in this world. Not just diversity in the way we look but our feelings and the way we feel about certain things. The good thing is that we all have the right to have different views even if it’s not what other people might thing is ethical and you don’t always need to agree with your church as well. Atheists are not more or less ethical than Christians. I think that a church or religion does not make who you are or what your decisions will be. At least that’s the case for many people. It’s up to each and every person to evaluate the situation and do what they think is the right thing to do.
Personally I believe that religion doesn’t play a HUGE role but it can someway have an affect towards the person. If a person doesn’t want to receive medical treatments because of religion then so be it. What I find ironic are people who aren’t religious, who are dying ask and pray for God’s help. Now why would a patient do that? Is it because they believe God will have their sins forgiven and repent? What if the patient is underage and doesn’t know. Here’s a good example. Suppose a child is very sick with a certain condition and will die without treatment. However the parents REFUSE to give treatment to their child. Now to me that is just somewhat inhumane of their acts. Who decides who dies and doesn’t? Does God really have a saying in this? Nobody knows for sure exactly. What may be ethical for a doctor may not be for the church and vice versa. Personally, I think religion should be put aside when it comes to medical decisions. Christian or Atheist are no more ethical than to each other. Just because an Atheist doesn’t believe in high power, doesn’t mean they’re more or less ethical. This principal goes for the same as Christians. So my take on this situation is that religion should not have a role when it comes to medical decisions. Who are we to decide who lives and dies? Although “miracles” do happen, it is still unknown for sure how they work. Was it through the power of medicine? Or was it God answering prayers?
I feel to ask if religion is needed to make ethical choices is like asking the chicken or the egg question. Ethics I feel are the reason why religion exists you search for a religion that answers to your ethics and then make it your own. So no I feel you don’t need religion to make an ethical decision at all but at the same time ethical choices are easier to make with religion since the lines are clearly defined with religion that choices or this choice while send you to hell or heaven based all on how you act. Funny that how no matter the religion or ethics it’s still your choice. Ethics are what we feel is right not what we believe are right they seem the same but they are not. You can feel righteous about a task even if you believe it was wrong that is an ethical decision while you can believe what you don’t feel such as ever merciful. Religion and ethics are intertwined but not completely joined you can have one without the other so you can make ethical choices with no religion backing. Or that is what I “Feel” And “Believe” anyway.
Now are atheists more ethical then Christians? I will for the sake of Pc and all that and choose to interpret Christian as religion and go from there. As for the question no I say a thousand times no for both sides of the argument. An Atheist a true Atheist can perform acts so vile even I can barely stomach then all in the name of there is no after so enjoy the here that they embrace, While Zealots or “True Believers” can put women and children to fire because their god demands it. Religion or its counterpart do affect ethics and the choices a man or woman makes but rather puts blinders over our eyes and limits the choices we see before us. An Atheist does not care about ethics good or bad they are all man-made creations that we hold so why should they follow them they effect nothing are nothing but words people say to make them feel good about themselves, while religious people try to fit all choices into their doctrine even if said doctrine is nearly a 1000 years old and was written in a politically charged storm of an environment. But it is unfair to say each is bad look at Blessed Mother Teresa, may god rest her soul, she has honestly done more good in 45 years then can ever truly be counted it is my firm believe that she has truly shaped our world and for the better I say all by believing in Catholicism to the point she did, and while I have no opposite examples for atheists I am sure they exist. So basically what I am saying is Religion or Atheism it doesn’t make you a better person it just shape the choices you see when cross roads of ethics happen.
I think that religion is unnecessary in trying to decide what is right or wrong in medical ethics. I think that since the world is diverse and there are too many different beliefs that one religion can not control what everyone else believes. It is an infringement of freedom of religion to say that something is wrong when only a portion of the population believes whatever it is being said. But when talking about behavior I think that religion plays a part in it because the things that you believe in make you who you are. So what you believe is what you choose to do and how religion plays a role in that is like a catholic person may say oh its wrong to have sex if your not going to have kids, but many other religions say its ok to have sex and not have any intensions of having kids. So should but necessarily doesn’t have to play a role in behavior. The way that some one is taught may not even have an effect of their behavior towards something’s. Like many Mormons cant drink much caffeine or alcohol and many choose not to follow saying. But I still believe that in most cases religion does play a huge role in how someone behaves.
I think that Atheists are as ethical as Christians because Atheists still have values and what is considered what and wrong, but that is what they believe. Since they believe there is not god then they have one less thing holding them back from deciding what they believe is wrong or right. Since we all have different beliefs I think that everyone has a right to chose what they want to believe in even thought some may frown at what they chose. Christians are as ethical to because those who do choose what they think is wrong or right. Yet its still tricky when trying to talk about what the guide lines fir trying to decide what’s consider right in medical ethics. Because there are too many beliefs and view points that one religion or belief shouldn’t be able to pick what it is wrong or right. So I think they both have a right to decide what they consider ethical.
In my personal opinion I believe that religion is not necessary for ethical decisions or behavior. I say this because growing up at home I heard very little about God or any other religions for that matter, until I was 17. As I was thinking about this question, I thought of decisions I had to make when I was younger, that dealt with choosing from wrong to right. In making those decisions I don’t remember any religious belief s intervening in my decisions. I do think that since many religions do portray living a good life, that if someone is religious that when making an ethical decision religion does come into play, but I do not believe it is necessary. I actually think that religion has the least role in making decisions. Mainly our emotions and the beliefs we were raised with are the ones that dominate our decisions.
I don’t necessarily think that atheist are more or less ethical than Christians or vice versa. Because there are many types of Christians with different beliefs such as there are atheist with different beliefs. But if I have to choose between the two, I would have to say that atheists are less ethical than Christians. I hold this opinion because many Christian sects read and follow what the bible says. It is a guideline for many Christians as to how we should live our life, and how God wants us to live our life. For example, specific ethical behaviors originate in the Old Testament’s Ten Commandments. Since atheists believe that no higher power exists, they don’t really follow any guidelines other than society’s rules. Many of society’s rules do have the same type of relationship as God’s rules for Christians. Though many could argue stating that atheists can look at all aspects of ethical situations, and though they may not reach a conclusion, they had spirited ethical debates. Yes that might be true, but where does that leave them. They aren’t able to defend a side and be totally for or not something, for example, abortion or murder. Unlike Christians, who though take ethical positions based on what God says is right or wrong, at least have an opinion about something and are able to defend their position based on their beliefs.
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the definition of ethics is the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment. Personally, my religion is influential in the way I decide what is right and wrong, as well as how I conduct myself; however, I do not believe that religious belief is necessary for ethical decisions or behavior.
First, humans have an innate sense of what is right and wrong that spans all cultures, religion, and time. For example, murder, lying, stealing, and cheating are considered wrong no matter the time a person lives, the religion they practice, or the country they live in. Even tribes who live in isolated places and are completely cut off from the rest of the world, seem to hold to these beliefs of right and wrong.
Second, aside from what humans naturally seem to believe is right or wrong, there are other sources that help to mold our sense of right and wrong. Yes, religion plays a roll in molding that sense of right and wrong for some people, but as with all things that we’ve talked about in this class, there is a spectrum. There is everything from the very religious on one end, to atheists on the other and everything in between. However, our morality can be affected by other sources also. We learn from our parents a belief system from the time we are little. Then our education plays a roll as we learn about the world we live in. We can look to the past and at the present, to see how morality has changed, and what the effects have been. In addition, we also have our own personal experiences; how we treated others, and how others treated us that have molded the way we see right and wrong.
All of us have our own unique perspective of the world that is beneficial when it comes to making ethical decisions. I’ve talked with a few people who are atheists, in the course of my life, and what I’ve found is that we basically believe the same things; we’ve just taken different paths to come to the same conclusion. I think the key to being able to make ethical decisions is based not on whether a person is religious or atheistic, but on whether they are willing to have an open mind and to find common ground that both can agree on. Or at least “agree to disagree”, and be willing to see the other person’s point of view and respect it. And let’s face it, there are both very religious people and atheists whose ethics I wouldn’t pay two cents for, and there are those in both groups whose ethics are beyond reproach.
Religion is a very important part in society with multi faceted purpose including but not limited to lifting the spirit of human beings,counseling and facilitating financial aids to the needy and building moral values and guide lines for a society to live by.Yes, religious believes are very necessary to make ethical decisions that are very important to our people.Through out history religious believes like Christianity and others lied out the foundation to moral values and ethical standards for different society to live by.forexample, christianity forbids adultry, killing including the unborn child, stealing some body's property, and intoxicating etc.These are good moral values we as a society learn from our believes.You can track any kind of moral values and ethical considerations back to some kind of religion. For example, the US constitution was first written by our founding fathers based on christian religionReligion can teach us to obey the rules of God and we can be morally grounded.Geligion just makes it easy and available to learn naturally what is wrong and what is right and the conseqences of not following the higher authority meaning God.religion is just one of the tools people use it to drive their moral values and ethical considerations.
no. I think ethics and the sense of "right or wrong" is instinctual, but we tend to look to the person next to us for reassurances and that may be why people do turn to religion. I was raised in an evangelical church until i was 13, i can tell you that atheist are no more morally right than a religious person. I do feel that Christians hide behind their bible to justify their behavior. they do horrible things, they beat their spouses and children, they do drugs and drink, they commit adultery and find a way to again hide behind their bible. I would have to say i am not gonna do this entry correctly. I believe you can be a good person, with or without religion, but you always need a good set of ethics to go with it.
I have to admit that this was a hard issue to address. The reason being is that I am Christian. However, our society has something in common…we are not all perfect or better than one another. We live in a complex world with so much diversity. Nevertheless, we must appreciate the fact that we are all part of this diverse culture whether we like it or not and we have to come down to a common ground in one way or another. It may not happen all the time but the majority of us try to accomplish this goal in one way or another. In this diversity there will always be different conclusions reached when faced with the same evidence that is involved in a particular situation. Since we are a diverse world we all have different expertise, virtues, beliefs, ethical standards, conduct and morals. With this being said no there is not a definite fine line that Atheists are more or less ethical than Christians and vice versa. We all are not perfect individuals whether we are Christians, Muslims, Jehovah witnesses, Atheists, Pastors, Physicians, Scientists...and the list just goes on. As for the question of religious belief being necessary for ethical decisions and or behavior? Well there should be out of fairness I think this question should also reflect science as well. The reason why I say this is because not every single dilemma that occurs in the different segments of our society would involve religious belief expertise as well as a scientific method in order to come to a sound and ethical decision. As in the behavior aspect of it, well we all have different standards and that’s what makes our ethical decisions unique in one way or another. Since we are not perfect individuals, our decisions may not always be appropriate. I guess the concept to remember is that our ethical decisions can reflect our individual characteristics: areas of expertise, virtues, beliefs, ethical standards, conduct and morals. Another basic concept to keep in mind is that no matter what you or I believe in ethics will always apply to everyone. Everyone is driven by their unique individualized virtues. We all have different attitudes, dispositions and character traits that enable us to pursue ideas along with our many endeavors in our life that we have developed or try to achieve throughout our lifetime. Our other individual characteristics that shape our ethical decisions are our honesty, courage, compassion, fairness, self-control and prudence. This is not developed over night and sometimes some decisions we are not able to handle or are not ours to address. I have found that the development of particular virtues that a person has set forth for themselves takes a lot of self discipline when building, changing and maintaining them. I guess you can say it is like a habit, some are good and some are bad. Another aspect that shapes our ethical framework of decision making occurs as we mature and age is through our many associations that we have encountered or maintained in our lifetime. The many instances and examples could be are: family upbringing, church, type of education/knowledge, experiences with other people. In conclusion, it is these various individual characteristics that governs ethical decisions among individuals or groups such as physicians, scientists, lawyers, school teachers, mothers, and fathers that does not make anyone of us absolutely more ethical than another when making every single ethical decision that we encounter.
Religious belief should be a huge influence of any ethical dilemmas. I believe that religious belief or a belief in a higher authority refrain us from doing harm to each other. Like any other dilemma in ethics, religion can influence it to a certain extent because there are religious beliefs that do harm other human beings. For example, there is a group of people who believe that sacrificing infants are sacred. This is a wicked practice that cannot be justified by religion. In this case, I think we have to use the categorical imperative where we raise the maxim to the universal level and see if it is moral or not. I think we have to use religion and the categorical imperative side by side to judge whether one ethical behavior or decision is ethical or not. I believe God put His goodness in us by a form we call conscience. However, God put it in us to as a warning system but not as a restraining system. Our conscience tells us what is good or not but most of the time we choose to ignore it. This is where the ethical system of Atheists comes from. Even though they do not believe in God, it doesn’t mean that they are not ethical because it doesn’t matter if they believe or not, God or their conscience is still within them. In conclusion, I believe that religion should be paired up with the categorical imperative to make ethical decisions.
I do not believe that religion is necessary for ethical decisions. I am myself an atheist. I have watched the videos by Richard Dawkins and I do agree with him. I think the teapot analogy by Russell is a brilliant and logical argument. There is the criticism that a teapot is a physical thing that can be seen but God is a metaphysical thing that can’t so the analogy doesn’t work. But we have found and have proven plenty of things that cannot be seen and those we have not seen up close and personal yet we can’t prove or disprove God. I think atheists tend to be more ethical than religious people because to believe in religion one must suspend reason to believe, one must be illogical. Once that step is taken, we have seen how people then go to the extreme and kill in the name of their religion. Of course, there are people on the entire spectrum who are unethical, do immoral acts and are considered “evil”. I’m saying in general are atheists more ethical then religious people. Now, not all religious folks are like that and there are plenty that do good deeds in the name of their God and are good people. However, how many atheists do you see bombing churches because they think it’s wrong? I haven’t heard of any and couldn’t find any while doing research. The reason I believe there aren’t any is because atheist use logic and reasoning in making moral and ethical decisions, not the so called word of a god as their moral compass. Now of course some argue that suicide bombers are political and not religious but they bomb something because they don’t like it i.e. the subway in Great Britain because they don’t agree with how that society is run, but they don’t like the way that society (and ours) is run is because of their twisted interpretation of the Quran and use it to justify their actions and whole heartedly believe they will be rewarded in Heaven by God for killing themselves and others in the name of their religion. Religion is used as a moral guideline but there are several problems with using religion as your moral basis. Firstly, for the argument to be debunked the other parities simply have to say that they do not believe in your God or God at all. Secondly, there is no proof God exists, and no documentation of the validity of the religious texts, which can be interpreted differently. Also, religious texts do not answer every conceivable ethical dilemma, especially the newest debates contained in our society today. What does a religious person do then, after a leap of faith on God, on the validity of the holy texts and now must interpret the texts themselves or follow what others say the Bible says simply as sheep? Yes, the Bible says “Thou shall not kill” but religion isn’t the only reason why murder is wrong. God’s existence cannot be proven and even if I were to take that leap of faith that He does, how can I trust religious texts? They have been edited, and handed down and written after the events have occurred. If I did decide to take that leap of faith, I would have to leap further to accept the religious texts as true. However, that quite frankly is too much room for error when it comes to ethics for me. Say I believe in God but not in religious texts, how would I then decide my morals and ethics? I would use logic and reason as I do now. Why wouldn’t God want us to use logic and reason to make such decisions? I have a problem with believing in a God that is illogical just because He is God and He can be. Seems to me like God is depicted as very emotional and human in religious texts, why? It says we are created in His image and he does display human behavior, but why should we as humans give in to emotion and illogic? Not to mention the horrors contained in the religious texts and how people now use them as a justification of murder and other crimes. Logic and reason gives no affordance of such. Religion seems to cause more damage than good in the arena of ethics and morals. After all, how many have died in the name of their religion, from the crusades and our present day abortion bombers and suicide bombers? It’s not just one religion either; all three Judeo-Christian religions have the same flaws and difficulties. There are plenty of arguments against the evils the religious texts are against, like murder and rape without the use of religion. The Bible has a very warped morality in itself, with the punishment of rape being just one example. In the Bible it says “If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city”. -- Deuteronomy 22:23-24. Now some argue to pick and chose from the Bible your morality and not throw out the baby with the bathwater. But how does one pick and chose, if several parts of my religious text is wrong, what does that say about the remainder? Logically, it doesn’t make sense, which is the biggest problem I have with religion. Theoretically speaking, if I took a giant leap of faith in God and find not a solid morality contained in my religious texts, then where do I turn? Or if I took an even bigger leap to believe in God and my holy text but they do not logically make sense and I do not believe that it is ethically right to treat prisoners of war as Numbers 31:15-18 states “And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves”. Now why would I be against such treatment? Why, because of logical and reasonable arguments. Where does that leave me? With logic and reason, that’s what I use now and I see no reason why I should use religion instead.
Miriam
I do not think religion is necessary for ethical decisions or behavior. I think in order for a person to be ethical you need to be somewhat compassionate and kind. The word ethical means to have set morals, respect for peoples feeling, to know the difference between right and wrong. I think education has a lot to do with ethical decisions. We as children are taught to believe in or to act a certain way. Our environment and our social influences make a great difference in how we act towards other people as well as behavior. Religion is just another taught belief. I believe religion can teach a person as well, or about ethics, but religion itself does not make a moral or compassionate person on its own. I as a child ,as well as most I am sure involved in this blog, were raised to a certain point to know you don’t beat up little girls without consequences, or you don’t sabotage somebody else’s work in college, at least I was . I went to church for the first time at the age of 20 years of age. Raised protestant I guess, but my point is I know the difference between right and wrong. And most certainly would not poison the neighbor’s dog because it barks too loud. I think a person’s natural temperament has a lot to do with compassion and is just another addition in developing into a compassionate person. Social influences and upbringing also determine whether a person is likely to be ethical. Knowing the consequences of making unethical and immoral decisions, we are not born to hurt others nor are we born to believe in religion. We are taught. I do think atheists are more ethical than Christians. Basically Christians believe in god and atheists believe that religion teaches our children false information or stories that did not happen. Atheists believe that you have a right to believe in your beliefs. Christians believe if you don’t believe in god you are a sinner and it is the only way. Neither belief teaches you to do wrong or preaches to go shoot your neighbor. I believe it boils down to your environment early in life. In general I do believe atheists, as far as the true meaning of the word ethics practice there beliefs more. Respecting the beliefs of others and respecting and allowing change in the world as long as it does not inflict or hurt others. Christians have been inclined to impose there beliefs on others, however, and historical events like the inquisition demonstrate that Christians are not always very ethical.
I think that religious beliefs are not always necessary in some cases. In some cases I belief that religious groups shouldn’t get involved because they don’t take in consideration the safety of the person. For example they won’t care if a pregnant woman is risking her life by going on with pregnancy, when she could have an abortion and be safe. In that case I think that they should see that the abortion is necessary to save the mother’s life. In those cases they shouldn’t be allowed to decide whether the mother decides to have an abortion to save herself or if she wishes to keep on going with the pregnancy. I think that they should always go with the safety of the person first.
I think religion is useful in making ethical decisions when you are not sure what to do. I do not go to church routinely nor am I a bad person but I do look to my religious beliefs when I am usure. I do not believe that religion makes you more ethical than a person who "does not believe" because regardless if you follow your religion or not, you can still do wrong. Just because you go to church all the time and read the bible to follow "God's word" does not mean you are doing what he wishes. I do not believe that the bible nor the church have all the answers for the problems we face now a days. I think the church interprets the bible in a way they believe will help solve a ethical question. Athiest will use ethics they believe to resolve ethical issues in a way they see fit instead of a religious person telling them what is ethical. Religious or not everyone makes bad decisions and it should not reflect on what they believe rather what they saw fit and believed to be a good decision at the time. There are people who killed in the name of their religion and still they made a bad ethical decision...maybe if they were athiest they would not have commited a sin. There are also athiest who killed and since they did not believe made them feel maybe less guilty because they had no one to answer to besides themselves. Religious or not, I believe ethical decision are made by a person based on how they feel personally.
Personally, besides the belief of the necessity of having a society that relies on ethics and morality, I believe that ethical consideration do not need to necessarily rise from religious body or neither do I believe that it’s automatically qualified as the good choice because of its source being religious organization. For example, Islamic nations claim that people in America are unethical and immoral and their solution to this is, either convert each and every one of us to Muslim or destroy us (I don’t know how that could be moral). Believe it or not, I believe ethical consideration can even rise from an atheist. First of all there are many religions that are so disintegrated and inclined towards competing with each other, and in various controversial topics each and every one of them seem to provide us with completely different perspectives. Who do we listen to?. I am not saying we should completely revoke any ethical consideration that rises from religion because of its variety but I am saying we can’t listen to each and every one of them that claim to be religious. Although God forbids argument, religious people will put themselves in a argument for competition with others and fail to realize that God only wants him to send the message written in the Bible, so they fail to exercise the true divine expectation. Even at the level of the Pope or other leaders, speech about how wrong other religion are or hate and judgment of other people prevail abundantly, which God does not want them to do. So I personally believe that we can’t say something is unethical because the Pope or Prophet Mohammed says it so because it clearly shows no one can truly and completely represent God. So if a religious person can be as sinful as the atheist, then he or she can be equally immoral or unethical. If for example judging is unethical then we are all judging and therefore we can’t act holier and tell the other their wrong doings. But I believe as humans we all share a central point of interest, and perhaps wisdom that enacts how we act and make choices in our life. Major issues like killing others might be easier to agree upon but for touchy subjects like stem cell research, despite millions of ethical issues that have risen through years, we have chosen to continue applying and practicing what we have found reasonable and beneficial. Otherwise we would have failed to be medical advanced because religion or other body might simply suggest the complete dismissal of animal research. So choosing to go with a simple use of stem cell from abortion does not overweigh the crisis of those dying, perhaps suffering from diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. So, I believe the central point of any controversial issue should still be ethics but must be shifted towards weighing its tremendous benefits and applications with plain claim of ethical issue from various sources.
A religious belief s not necessary for ethical decisions and/or behaviors. Religion is man made and people tend to get brain washed thinking that they will not go to Heaven if they do or act a certain way. Ones own self has control if they don’t well then they need help. Atheists are humans too just because they don’t believe in God doesn’t make them bad people. As humans we have the ability to make good and bad decisions. I feel that some take their religion too serious and feel that their religion and beliefs are right, which makes them very judgmental. I think it depends on the ethical issue at hand whether or not a subject is more or less ethical then the other.
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