by Paul Schingle

Created on: November 04, 2009   Last Updated: November 06, 2009

Just the fact that the question is even asked shows a strange bias. The way I interpret the question is: ethics can't exist without religion. The natural converse to that is, of course, we only have ethics because of religion. I find the idea preposterous and insulting. Can a person only understand, and instill in others, values if they believe in God (or have some "religious foundation")? Conversely, do we only maintain ethics, values and some sort of code of conduct because we have a fear of God? If that's the case, then I'd say our displays of "proper" behavior are more a product of blackmail or extortion than they are of ethics.

To my way of thinking, ethical behavior is that which we'd display whether we were being watched or not. To behave in an ethical manner, one does not need to lean on God, or some sort of religious foundation. Whether or not your parents had religion, the way you behave is more of a direct reflection on their time and attention than it is on any religious schooling or upbringing. I think we are all a product of the way that we are raised. And, that includes ethical behavior.

Assuming that premise to be true, can an atheist parent bring a child up to behave in an ethical manner? I'd say the answer to that is a resounding yes. We don't need a religious text to tell us that taking something that isn't ours is wrong. We don't need religion at all to know that some things are just wrong at the core level (lying, cheating, stealing, etc.). (For that matter, we don't need "The Law" either, but this isn't meant to be a treatise on Libertarianism). The point is, an atheist can display moral/ethical behavior just as easily as a religious person. On the other side of the same coin, a religious person can be just as unethical as an atheist. Religion and morality are not joined at the hip.

Now, this isn't to say that there is anything wrong with using religious texts to teach moral behavior. One can use the Bible (or the Koran or whatever they choose) to show examples of moral behavior (or lack thereof). Personally, I would say that the Bible is no worse (or better) than tales from Greek Mythology. All of these stories are metaphors and not to be taken as literal truth. Still, the purpose they serve as to set examples of moral and ethical behavior is not without value.

Does a lack of religious foundation diminish ethics? I think the question is ridiculous and without merit. The idea that people only behave in an ethical manner because of religion is insulting. Ethics doesn't come from some deity up in the sky. Ethics is inherited from the people who raised us. We are all products of our upbringing, and that includes ethics.

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