Ethics in Religion free essay sample

â€Å"If there is no God, then everything is permitted† – Dostoyevky If there is no God, then surely everything is permitted and there will be situation of moral chaos. This is because people will try to define what is moral by themselves and people somehow will define it differently according to their internal and external factors. Without God, there is no good and evil, there are only subjective opinions that we then label â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil. † RELIGION MUST BE THE BASIS FOR MORALITY. No doubt religion must be the basis of ethics and it is undeniable. Why it is because religion is the most solid basis to explain morality. All religions have moral components and religious approach to ethical issues supported by divine teaching. With the clear guidelines that has been underline in holy books, revelations that mostly come from supernatural and divine teaching is not something man-made. For example, divine book of Islam Al-Quran lays the principles that help Muslims achieve salvation, become better individuals and useful members of society. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics in Religion or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The book has underlined almost everything from how one should serve Allah to even how to do business. Next, God’s law is not only meant to create harmonious environment but also to test His believers’ upon their loyalty. Most religions always discuss about life after death. Human are accountable to all their action during their lifetime and it will be paid in hereafter. The concept of paradise and hell in Islam can be a motivational and sanction factors to Muslims to perform a good and avoid bad conducts. The concept of God’s existence will make belief that everything that you do will be paid, definitely. For example, the concept of karma in Buddhism and the concept of Judgement Day, Paradise and Hell in Islam. Besides that, the reason why religion is must be the basis of morality is because there will be no conflict of interest in defining what is right or wrong. The secular point of view on what can be classified as a moral conduct is based on only motive, act and consequences, which is somehow, may be biased. It only depends on the result and consequences of their conduct such as the famous quote by Machiavelli – â€Å"the ends justify the means†. What is morally right to do is based on what they think is right eventhough they may discriminate other people. For instance, the apartheid issue in United States is the question of moral. The forth reason why religion must be the basis of morality is that the view of God commands is good and what has been prohibited is evil. It has been explained by Divine Command Theory. The Divine Command Theory is the view on morality that what is right is whatever God commands. We know the sets of what is good and what is bad through religion, and their content are whatever our religion says it is. The believers hold that values come from some higher power or supernatural being. It shows that the determinant of what is good or bad is not based on normal human thinking by themselves as what has been practise by atheist but rather by some higher power or supernatural being. For example, the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights by United Nation that uphold the concept of LGBT is contradict with Islam that surely will lead to destruction of mankind. Lastly, no doubt that religious sanction has harmonious relationship between reasons and revelation. Most religions have certain sanction to their believers and the relevance of the sanctions is definitely has solid reasons. The atheists may argue with this sanctions but what they don’t understand is the ultimate reason it been introduced. Through the concept and belief in the existence of God, the believers will follow those sanctions for the reasons of their God will watch and judges every action and there will be rewards and punishments. For example, in pre-Islamic Arabia killing of female infants was very common and very often, the moment a female was born, she was buried alive. However, after the spread of Islam in Arabia, this evil practice has been discontinued for a good reason. CONCLUSION The argument that does we need to subscribe to a religion in order to be a good person is never ending. Obviously, people can certainly maintain ethical perspectives and subscribe to ethical principles and behaviour without engagement in religious or spiritual beliefs, institutions, or practices. Religious engagement and practices encourages and supports clean living. Research has consistently found that religious people are less likely to engage in criminal behaviour, marital infidelity, alcoholism, unprotected sexual activity as well as being more likely to engage in good social behaviours such as volunteerism and charity. REFERENCES * Stephen Satris, CLASHING VIEWS IN MORAL ISSUES, McGrawHill * Regina Wentzel Wolfe, ETHICS AND WORLD RELIGIONS, Orbis Books. * Joe Jenkins, ETHICS AND RELIGION, Heinemann.