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HandWiki. Morality and Religion. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/27868 (accessed on 22 September 2026).
HandWiki. Morality and Religion. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/27868. Accessed September 22, 2026.
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Morality and Religion
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The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Religion:Morality_and_religion

The intersections of morality and religion involve the relationship between religious views and morals. It is common for religions to have value frameworks regarding personal behavior meant to guide adherents in determining between right and wrong. These include the Triple Gems of Jainism, Islam's Sharia, Catholicism's Catechism, Buddhism's Eightfold Path, and Zoroastrianism's "good thoughts, good words, and good deeds" concept, among others. Various sources - such as holy books, oral and written traditions, and religious leaders - may outline and interpret these frameworks. Some religious systems share tenets with secular value-frameworks such as consequentialism, freethought, and utilitarianism. Religion and morality are not synonymous. Though religion may depend on morality, and even develop alongside morality, morality does not necessarily depend upon religion, despite some making "an almost automatic assumption" to this effect. According to The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics, religion and morality "are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other. Conceptually and in principle, morality and a religious value system are two distinct kinds of value systems or action guides." In the views of some, morality and religion can overlap. One definition sees morality as an active process which is, "at the very least, the effort to guide one's conduct by reason, that is, doing what there are the best reasons for doing, while giving equal consideration to the interests of all those affected by what one does." Value judgments can vary greatly between and within the teachings of various religions, past and present. People in some religious traditions, such as Christianity, may derive ideas of right and wrong from the rules and laws set forth in their respective authoritative guides and by their religious leaders. Divine Command Theory equates morality to adherence to authoritative commands in a holy book. Religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism generally draw from some of the broadest canons of religious works. Researchers have shown interest in the relationship between religion and crime and other behavior that does not adhere to contemporary laws and social norms in various countries. Studies conducted in recent years have explored these relationships, but the results have been mixed and sometimes contradictory. The ability of religious faiths to provide useful and consistent value frameworks remains a matter of some debate. Some religious commentators have asserted that one cannot lead a moral life without an absolute lawgiver as a guide. Other observers assert that moral behavior does not rely on religious tenets, and/or that moral guidelines vary over time and space rather than remain absolute, and secular commentators (such as Christopher Hitchens) point to ethical challenges within various religions that conflict with contemporary social norms.

religious value ethical challenges social norms

References

  1. Peggy Morgan, "Buddhism." In Morgan, Peggy; Lawton, Clive A., eds (2007). Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions (Second ed.). Columbia University Press. pp. 61, 88–89. ISBN 978-0-7486-2330-3. 
  2. Miller, Barbara Stoler (2004). The Bhagavad Gita: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War. New York: Random House. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-553-21365-2. 
  3. Gaukroger, Stephen (2012). Objectivity: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-19-960669-6. https://archive.org/details/objectivityverys0000gauk/page/91. 
  4. Childress, James F.; Macquarrie, John, eds (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 401. ISBN 978-0-664-20940-7. 
  5. Paul, Richard; Elder, Linda (2006). The Miniature Guide to Understanding the Foundations of Ethical Reasoning. United States: Foundation for Critical Thinking Free Press. pp. np. ISBN 978-0-944583-17-3. 
  6. Geertz, Armin W. (2014). "Whence religion ? How the brain constructs the world and what this might tell us about the origins of religion, cognition and culture". in Geertz, Armin W.. Origins of Religion, Cognition and Culture. Religion, Cognition and Culture. Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-317-54456-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=Zl9_BAAAQBAJ. Retrieved 2015-09-19. "[...] the age-old assumption that religion produces morals and values is neither the only, nor the most parsimonious, hypothesis for religion." 
  7. Werner Menski, "Hinduism." In Morgan, Peggy; Lawton, Clive A., eds (2007). Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions (Second ed.). Columbia University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-7486-2330-3. 
  8. Barna Group (31 March 2008). "New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released". Barna Group. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/15-familykids/42-new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released. Retrieved 19 November 2011. 
  9. Dixon, Thomas (2008). Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 115. ISBN 978-0-19-929551-7. 
  10. Ron Rhodes. "Strategies for Dialoguing with Atheists". Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries. http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Atheism.html. Retrieved January 4, 2010. 
  11. McKay, R; Whitehouse, H (March 2015). "Religion and morality.". Psychological Bulletin 141 (2): 447–73. doi:10.1037/a0038455. PMID 25528346.  http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4345965
  12. Galen, LW (September 2012). "Does religious belief promote prosociality? A critical examination.". Psychological Bulletin 138 (5): 876–906. doi:10.1037/a0028251. PMID 22925142.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2Fa0028251
  13. Galen, LW (September 2012). "The complex and elusive nature of religious prosociality: reply to Myers (2012) and Saroglou (2012).". Psychological Bulletin 138 (5): 918–23. doi:10.1037/a0029278. PMID 22925145.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2Fa0029278
  14. Hall, Deborah L.; Matz, David C.; Wood, Wendy (16 December 2009). "Why Don't We Practice What We Preach? A Meta-Analytic Review of Religious Racism". Personality and Social Psychology Review 14 (1): 126–139. doi:10.1177/1088868309352179. PMID 20018983.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F1088868309352179
  15. Stark, Rodney; Smith, Buster G. (September 4, 2009). "Religious Attendance Relates to Generosity Worldwide". Gallup. http://www.gallup.com/poll/122807/religious-attendance-relates-generosity-worldwide.aspx. 
  16. Crabtree, Steve; Pelham, Brett (October 8, 2008). "Worldwide, Highly Religious More Likely to Help Others". Gallup. http://www.gallup.com/poll/111013/worldwide-highly-religious-more-likely-help-others.aspx. 
  17. Highly Religious People Are Less Motivated by Compassion Than Are Non-Believers by Science Daily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120430140035.htm
  18. Laura R. Saslow, Robb Willer, Matthew Feinberg, Paul K. Piff, Katharine Clark, Dacher Keltner and Sarina R. Saturn My Brother's Keeper? Compassion Predicts Generosity More Among Less Religious Individuals http://spp.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/04/25/1948550612444137.full.pdf+html
  19. "Religious citizens more involved -- and more scarce?". USA Today. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-05-14-church-community_N.htm. 
  20. Campbell, David; Putnam, Robert (2010-11-14). "Religious people are 'better neighbors'". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-15-column15_ST_N.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-18. 
  21. Brooks, Arthur. "Religious Faith and Charitable Giving". http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/6577. 
  22. Kerley, Kent R.; Matthews, Todd L.; Blanchard, Troy C. (2005). "Religiosity, Religious Participation, and Negative Prison Behaviors". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 44 (4): 443–457. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00296.x.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1468-5906.2005.00296.x
  23. Saroglou, Vassilis; Pichon, Isabelle; Trompette, Laurence; Verschueren, Marijke; Dernelle, Rebecca (2005). "Prosocial Behavior and Religion: New Evidence Based on Projective Measures and Peer Ratings". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 44 (3): 323–348. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00289.x. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227644145. 
  24. Regnerus, Mark D.; Burdette, Amy (2006). "Religious Change and Adolescent Family Dynamics". The Sociological Quarterly 47 (1): 175–194. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.2006.00042.x.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1533-8525.2006.00042.x
  25. Conroy, S. J.; Emerson, T. L. N. (2004). "Business Ethics and Religion: Religiosity as a Predictor of Ethical Awareness Among Students". Journal of Business Ethics 50 (4): 383–396. doi:10.1023/B:BUSI.0000025040.41263.09.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1023%2FB%3ABUSI.0000025040.41263.09
  26. e.g. a survey by Robert Putnam showing that membership of religious groups was positively correlated with membership of voluntary organizations http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/data/datasets/social_capital_community_survey.html
  27. Baier, Colin J.; Wright, Bradley R. E. (February 2001). " 'If You Love Me, Keep My Commandments': A Meta-analysis of the Effect of Religion on Crime". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 38 (1): 3–21. doi:10.1177/0022427801038001001. http://brewright.com/articles/If%20You%20Love%20Me,%20Keep%20My%20Commandments.pdf. Retrieved 20 November 2011.  Original in italics.
  28. Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7. http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html. 
  29. Gerson Moreno-Riaño; Mark Caleb Smith; Thomas Mach (2006). "Religiosity, Secularism, and Social Health". Journal of Religion and Society (Cedarville University) 8. 
  30. Gary F. Jensen (2006) Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University Religious Cosmologies and Homicide Rates among Nations: A Closer Look "Archived copy". http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2006/2006-7.html. Retrieved 2012-09-06.  http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/pdf/2006-7.pdf Journal of Religion and Society, Volume 8, ISSN 1522-5658 http://purl.org/JRS
  31. Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7: 4, 5, 8, and 10. https://dspace.creighton.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10504/64409/2005-11.pdf?sequence=1. 
  32. Zuckerman, Phil (October 2008). Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment. New York: New York University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8147-9714-3.  Zuckerman's work is based on his studies conducted during a 14-month period in Scandinavia in 2005–2006 of 150 people.
  33. Zuckerman, Phil (2007). Martin, Michael. ed. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-0-521-60367-6. 
  34. As is stated in: Chu, D. C. (2007). "Religiosity and Desistance From Drug Use". Criminal Justice and Behavior 34 (5): 661–679. doi:10.1177/0093854806293485.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F0093854806293485
  35. For example: Albrecht, S. I.; Chadwick, B. A.; Alcorn, D. S. (1977). "Religiosity and deviance:Application of an attitude-behavior contingent consistency model". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 16 (3): 263–274. doi:10.2307/1385697.  Burkett, S.; White, M. (1974). "Hellfire and delinquency:Another look". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 13 (4): 455–462. doi:10.2307/1384608.  Chard-Wierschem, D. (1998). In pursuit of the "true" relationship: A longitudinal study of the effects of religiosity on delinquency and substance abuse. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation. Cochran, J. K.; Akers, R. L. (1989). "Beyond Hellfire:An explanation of the variable effects of religiosity on adolescent marijuana and alcohol use". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 26 (3): 198–225. doi:10.1177/0022427889026003002.  Evans, T. D.; Cullen, F. T.; Burton, V. S. Jr.; Dunaway, R. G.; Payne, G. L.; Kethineni, S. R. (1996). "Religion, social bonds, and delinquency". Deviant Behavior 17: 43–70. doi:10.1080/01639625.1996.9968014.  Grasmick, H. G.; Bursik, R. J.; Cochran, J. K. (1991). ""Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's": Religiosity and taxpayer's inclinations to cheat". The Sociological Quarterly 32 (2): 251–266. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1991.tb00356.x.  Higgins, P. C.; Albrecht, G. L. (1977). "Hellfire and delinquency revisited". Social Forces 55 (4): 952–958. doi:10.1093/sf/55.4.952.  Johnson, B. R.; Larson, D. B.; DeLi, S.; Jang, S. J. (2000). "Escaping from the crime of inner cities:Church attendance and religious salience among disadvantaged youth". Justice Quarterly 17 (2): 377–391. doi:10.1080/07418820000096371.  Johnson, R. E.; Marcos, A. C.; Bahr, S. J. (1987). "The role of peers in the complex etiology of adolescent drug use". Criminology 25 (2): 323–340. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1987.tb00800.x.  Powell, K (1997). "Correlates of violent and nonviolent behavior among vulnerable inner-city youths". Family and Community Health 20 (2): 38–47. doi:10.1097/00003727-199707000-00006.  https://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F1385697
  36. See, for instance, Ronald J. Sider, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 2005). Sider quotes extensively from polling research by The Barna Group showing that moral behavior of evangelical Christians is unexemplary.
  37. "New Study Suggests Religion May Help Criminals Justify Their Crimes". www.slate.com. http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2013/03/08/faith_based_prison_programs_new_study_suggests_religion_may_help_criminals.html. Retrieved March 10, 2013. 
  38. Volkan Topalli; Timothy Brezina; Mindy Bernhardt (February 2013). "With God on my side: The paradoxical relationship between religious belief and criminality among hardcore street offenders". Theoretical Criminology. http://tcr.sagepub.com/content/17/1/49.short?rss=1&%3bssource=mfr. 
  39. Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6. 
  40. Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6. 
  41. Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 10, 12. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6. 
  42. Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6. 
  43. David Hume, "The Natural History of Religion." In Hitchens, Christopher, ed (2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6. 
  44. Russell, Bertrand (1957). Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. New York: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.. p. vii. ISBN 978-0-671-20323-8. https://archive.org/details/whyiamnotchristi00russ/page/. 
  45. Russell, Bertrand (1957). Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. New York: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-671-20323-8. https://archive.org/details/whyiamnotchristi00russ/page/20. 
  46. Copan, Paul. "Does the Old Testament Endorse Slavery? An Overview". http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201102/201102_108_slavery.htm.cfm. Retrieved 5 July 2012. 
  47. Russell, Bertrand (1957). Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. New York: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-671-20323-8. https://archive.org/details/whyiamnotchristi00russ/page/68. 
  48. Russell, Bertrand (1957). Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. New York: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0-671-20323-8. https://archive.org/details/whyiamnotchristi00russ/page/68. 
  49. Russell, Bertrand (1957). Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. New York: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-671-20323-8. https://archive.org/details/whyiamnotchristi00russ/page/166. 
  50. Russell, Bertrand (1957). Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. New York: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-671-20323-8. https://archive.org/details/whyiamnotchristi00russ/page/195. 
  51. Dalai Lama (10 September 2012). "Dalai Lama". Facebook. Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/DalaiLama/posts/10151052842097616. Retrieved 10 September 2012. 
  52. Williams, Bernard (1972). Morality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0-521-45729-3. 
  53. Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 262–279. ISBN 978-0-618-68000-9.  https://archive.org/details/goddelusion00dawk/page/262
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