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A person is able to have strong moral and ethical values without having a serous religious foundation; however, it is possible that those who are strongly religious may stick to higher moral beliefs than some less religious citizens. Religion is not a necessity to being moral, but it can present itself as a great aid in helping people decide whether certain actions are morally right and which are morally wrong. Out of all of the religions in our global community, the practice of certain beliefs are more accepted and widespread. Many of these major religions are similarly grounded in the belief that there is a single god who has the power to prescribe the right and wrong actions for its followers to take. In most religions, being kind to your fellow man (and sometimes woman) is held to be morally correct. The followers of these religions follow the commandments that are set forth for them and try to live a life that adheres to the teachings of their religion.

Those who follow a religion are raised with a set system of morals and ethics that they are expected to follow. People who do not practice a particular religion do not have the direct benefit of have a prescribed path to follow in their quest to be a moral and ethical person. As a person who was not raised in a religious household, I do not find this issue to be a dilemma in America. It is an undeniable fact that the American culture smiles upon Christian based values and ethics. Growing up in this type of atmosphere helps to impart ethics that are based on the teachings of the Bible, but a citizen does not have to be religious in order to benefits from the cultural mores that are expected of all citizens.

It is clear that those who are not religious still live by many of the same morals of those who are religious simply for the fact that they are prescribed by our culture; however, the strength of those ethics and morals may be slightly diminished without a strong religious foundation. Adhering to ethics for religious reasons generally centers on the ability to achieve the best afterlife that is possible. A person needs to prove to their god that they are worthy of this reward and they do this by adhering to those ethics in their everyday life. Without the same incentive, those who lack a religiously based set of morals act ethically for reasons other than the fact that "God is watching." Those other reasons might be that they want to fit in with their society, many laws require the following of certain ethical tenants, or that they just want to live their life as what they view as a "good" person. All of these motivators are fair and just, however they do not offer the 24-hour surveillance of having an omniscient being watching over you. Breaking with these ethics for a non-religious person may mean that they become social outcasts, receive fines or imprisonment, or become dissatisfied with themselves. The fear of eternal damnation is not ever-present for those that lack a religious foundation.

The lack of a religious foundation may diminish ethics; however, it does not necessarily guarantee a lesser ethical standard of individuals.

Learn more about this author, Joan Huston.
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