by Bridget Webber

Created on: April 07, 2009

A person who is religious is provided with a good framework of ethics and decency from which to branch out into the world and become a good person. However, it is how the knowledge gained via religion is used and understood which makes all the difference when it comes to the act of being good.

We need not be religious in order to be good and moral as we can learn via role models and experiences to be kind and loving. Once again, it is how we choose to use these experiences and the information gained by observing others which either leads us to be good people or not.

Those who are religious and those whose views are anti-religious may believe that their way is the best and only valid route in life possible. Because of this they may attempt to make others follow their lead and adopt their belief system. These extreme views leave less room for absolute goodness from an individual as they encourage elitism, as one group of people is favored above another.

Truly being good doesn't mean, however, that we need have an open stance of philosophy where we accept everything, disregard nothing and all agree with one another. It is possible to be kind and forgiving while not seeing eye to eye with another person. The way that this becomes bad, as opposed to good, is when we disagree with another and so condemn them as a lesser being because of it.

Just as people come in all shapes and sizes they also come with different perspectives on life. There are a myriad of varying religions, with many different Gods being revered in this world. All of these religions have the possibility of providing spiritual guidance and instilling goodness into their followers.

At the same time, many religions may encourage bigotry, a lack of human understanding and a coldness or condescendingly sympathetic attitude towards people who are non-believers. The same is true though, even if you don't have any particular religious perspective. In the non-religious world it is just as easy to adopt racist, misogynistic or elitist beliefs.

Instead of attempting to associate being good with being religious or not perhaps we would be wiser to see beyond mass belief systems and take everyone as individuals. What one person gains from a particular upbringing, or set of moral values presented to them at any stage of their life, may be very different from what another person comes out of the experience with as guidance. There is no one set of people in the world who are inherently good or bad.

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