The Relationship between Religion and Morality

Starter questions Is there a connection between religion and morality? Is there a connection between belief in God and morality? Is this the same thing?

Divine Command Theory God’s will alone decides what is right and wrong; human reason has no authority; human experience has no authority; God’s authority is absolute. All humans can do is accept God’s authority and respond either rightly or wrongly. Sin is disobedience to the word of God. Punishment and the hope of reward are the reason that it is ‘good’ to obey God’s commands.

Divine Command Theory DCT is a meta-ethical theory. Meta-ethics is a branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and scope of moral values, properties, and words. Whereas the fields of applied ethics and normative theory focus on what is moral, meta-ethics focuses on what morality itself is. Metaethics | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

DCT evidence The Old Testament and the Qur’an are full of teachings that consist of God asserting his moral law, e.g. 10 Commandments; expulsion from Garden of Eden Scholar William of Ockham championed DCT in the Middle Ages “God cannot be obligated to any act. With Him a thing becomes right solely because He wants it to” AG Grayling stated “Sin is disobedience to the commands of God; virtue is obedience to them”

Example Imagine that God is a general in the army and that Christians are his soldiers. The soldiers wait on the battlefield of life. They know that the general has the strategic plan that will enable them to be victorious. What should they do? Should they follow the orders, however strange the commands might seem at the time? The clear answer is that they should for their own good if nothing else. They know that, by doing so, victory will be achieved. (Taken from ‘Understanding Religious Ethics’ – Richard Wright – pg 93)

DCT problems What problems can you see with Divine Command Theory? In pairs list 3 problems.

Euthyphro Dilemma The Divine Command Theory is the view on morality that what is right is whatever God commands. Socrates’ question (Euthyphro dilemma): Is it right because God’s commands it or does God command it because it is right?