Custom, Religion &

ethics
Awad
Yasmin
outline
1 – story of religions

2 – ethics in religion

3 – thoughts about religion

Story of
religions
Religion History is related to the
invention of writing
The history of religion refers to the written record of human
religious feelings, thoughts and ideas

BIG CONCEPT
Religion History begins with the invention of writing about
5,220 years ago (3200 BC)

Writing played a major role in standardizing religious text

regardless of time or location
Religious ideas started 300k years ago
The earliest archeological evidence of religious ideas dates
back to the middle and lower paleolithic periods

The intentional burial of early Homo sapiens and

Neanderthals is proof that religious ideas already existed
BIG CONCEPT
Religious ideas started 300k years ago
Other evidence of religious ideas includes symbolic artifacts
from Middle Stone Age sites in Africa

The interpretation of early paleolithic artifacts with regard to

how they relate to religious ideas remains controversial
BIG CONCEPT
The concept of Religion was born later
The ‘Religion’ concept was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries

Ancient sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did
not have a word or concept of religion in the original languages

BIG CONCEPT
The word religion as known today does not have an obvious
pre-colonial translation into non-European languages

The ‘religious’ category is something developed in Europe

under the influence of Christianity
Spread of world religions started in
the Middle Ages
World religions of the present day established themselves
throughout Eurasia during the Middle Ages by:

BIG CONCEPT
• Christianization of the Western world

• Buddhist missions to East Asia

• Spread of Islam throughout the Middle East, Central Asia,

North Africa and parts of Europe and India
 BIG CONCEPT

31%
The world’s largest religion,
Christianity,
is practiced by about 2.4 billion people
BIG CONCEPT

31%
 BIG CONCEPT

31%
The country with the highest number of practicing Christians is
the United States, with a Christian population of 253 million
Brazil and Mexico follow closely with 185 million
and 118 million Christians, respectively

BIG CONCEPT
 BIG CONCEPT

25%
Islam is the predominant religion of countries
in the Middle East and Northern Africa

BIG CONCEPT

25%
 BIG CONCEPT
Countries in Asia have the highest percentage
25%
of practicing Muslims in the world
 BIG CONCEPT

25%
14.2% of Indians are Muslim which makes the country
home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations,
surpassed only by Indonesia
 BIG CONCEPT

0.2%
 BIG CONCEPT
While Jews historically have been found all around the
25%
0.2%
globe, Judaism is highly geographically concentrated today
More than four-fifths of all Jews live in just two countries:
25%
0.2%
the United States and Israel

BIG CONCEPT
 BIG CONCEPT
Israel is the only country with a Jewish majority,
25%
0.2%
with 76% of the population being practicing Jews
 BIG CONCEPT

15.6%
The religiously unaffiliated population includes atheists,
25%
0.2%
15.6%
agnostics, and people who do not identify with any particular
religion

BIG CONCEPT
 BIG CONCEPT
It is worth noting that many of the religiously unaffiliated hold
25%
0.2%
15.6%
some religious or spiritual beliefs
 BIG CONCEPT

15.2%
Hinduism is the third-largest religion worldwide, with
25%
0.2%
15.6%
15.2%
approximately 1.2 billion Hindus in many countries

BIG CONCEPT
 BIG CONCEPT
Is the dominant religion in only three countries, India
25%
0.2%
15.6%
15.2%
with 79%, Nepal with 80%, and Mauritius with 48%
 BIG CONCEPT

6.6%
 BIG CONCEPT

Half the world’s Buddhists live in China. Still, they

6.6%
make
25%
0.2%
15.6%
15.2%
up only 18% of the country’s population
 BIG CONCEPT

Scholars and journalists have documented that many Asian countries

6.6%25%
0.2%
15.6%
15.2%
may engage in Buddhist practices without considering themselves
part of any organized religion
 BIG CONCEPT

5.6%
Folk religion is any ethnic or cultural religious practice
that5.6%
25%
0.2%
15.6%
15.2%
falls outside the doctrine of organized religion

BIG CONCEPT
429 million people, about 6% of the world’s total
5.6%25%
0.2%
15.6%
15.2%adherents of folk or traditional religions
BIG CONCEPT
population, were
 BIG CONCEPT
Some notable folk religions include African traditional
religions, Chinese folk religions, Native American religions,
and Australian aboriginal religions
BIG CONCEPT
Ethics has to do with Human Conduct
It can be seen as a series of rules, thoughts or beliefs that
help distinguish between good and evil

ETHICS VS MORALITY

BIG CONCEPT
professionalpersonal
sphere sphere

RELIGION?
When it comes to religions, it makes me think that this set of
rules that must be followed are mostly for people's daily life,
and therefore largely related to their personal sphere
Ethics has to do with Human Conduct
It can be seen as a series of rules, thoughts or beliefs that
help distinguish between good and evil

ETHICS VS MORALITY

BIG CONCEPT
professionalpersonal
sphere sphere

RELIGION?
However, it is true that our beliefs influence our way of
acting and thinking in any sphere we find ourselves, included
the professional one
Ethics has to do with Human Conduct
It can be seen as a series of rules, thoughts or beliefs that
help distinguish between good and evil

ETHICS VS MORALITY

BIG CONCEPT
professionalpersonal
sphere sphere

RELIGION?
I wanted to point out that during this presentation, when I
talk about ethics I may actually be referring to morality, as
the line is so thin
I will mostly talk about the 3
Abrahamic Religions
The term refers to three monotheistic religions that claim
Abraham as their common forefather

• ChristianityBIG CONCEPT
• Islam

• Judaism
Ethics in
Religion
Most religions have an ethical
component
Often derived from purported supernatural revelation or
guidance

Some assert that religion is necessary to live ethically

Most religions have an ethical
component

Do you believe that religion is necessary to live ethically?

Why?
Most religions have an ethical
component
A longstanding debate has been whether ethics plays a role in
religion

A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living,
called by ancient Greeks eudaimonia or happiness

Ancient Greeks believed happiness was brought about by living

one’s life in accordance with virtue – positive traits of character

The essence of virtue is in the wholeness of the person brought

about by integrity
Kant defended the idea of God as a
basic requirement of ethics
Kant said that we ought to be virtuous and do our duty

He believed virtue should be rewarded by happiness, and it

would be intolerable if it were not so

Virtue must receive its due recompense in a future life, and

there must be a God guaranteeing that it is so rewarded

The existence of God and the immortality of the soul are the
assumptions without which ethics would not be possible
Commands in religions ‘scriptures are
God’s own commands
Revealed religions like Christianity, Islam and Judaism do
prescribe some clear and unambiguous rules to follow

They cannot be changed if human circumstances change or

ethical ideas progress.
What role has religion in moral
decision-making?
Some of our most basic moral sentiments are directly connected
to religious ideology

Most people agree that things like murder and adultery are
always wrong, regardless of circumstances

Most major world religions echo these sentiments

Religion can be seen as a good source of basic moral guidance,

therefore it is unwise to argue if there is or not a connection
between religion and ethics
The Golden Rule is the link between
religion and morality
Virtually all of the world’s great religions contain in their
religious texts some version of the Golden Rule

“Do unto others as you would wish

them do unto you”
In other words, we should treat others the way we would want
to be treated

This is the basic ethic that guides all religions, indeed, if we do

so, happiness will ensue
Religions underline the concept of right
conduct
Examples of such moral teachings are:

• You shall do right and good (beyond the call of duty)

• Love your neighbor
• Correct behavior between man and man
• Discipline or training of character under the law
• Piety beyond the law
• The need to be respectful, earn a living
• Engage in learning and culture and so forth
Religion asks you not to think
The role of philosophers is to accurately try to define and
promote ethical concepts based upon logic and reason

A religious person follows his/her code of conduct because God

told him to do so, he believes that that is the proper behaviour

What if you don’t agree to all the rules?

Is it ethical to follow that religion?
Religion asks you not to think
Example:

in Christianity it is required to baptize one's children at birth

At that age, children are unable to understand religion, but are

still forced to start a religious path

Children are not allowed to think before starting to follow a

religion in many cases

Is it ethical to oblige a person who is incapable of understanding

and willing to start a path whose correctness is not certain?
The difference between ethics and
religion is visible from the meaning
Analysing the Greek meaning of the words religion and ethic we
can understand their basic difference:

Religion -> θρησκεία (thrēskeia)

BIG CONCEPT

The term comes from the word θρησκός (thrēskos; fear)

which comes from θροέω (throeō; scream, get scared)

It indicated the formal way in which the cult in favor of the

gods was to be celebrated
The difference between ethics and
religion is visible from the meaning
Analysing the Greek meaning of the words religion and ethic we
can understand their basic difference:

Ethic -> ethos (way of living)

BIG CONCEPT

Is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with human

conduct, which is the behaviour of individuals in society

Examines the rational justification for our moral

judgments, what is morally right or wrong, just or unjust
The difference between ethics and
religion is visible from the meaning
Analysing the Greek meaning of the words religion and ethic we
can understand their basic difference:

BIG CONCEPT
Ethics in religions is about behaviors that are adopted out of
fear of something greater and not for rational reasons
Thoughts about
religion
Religion is something that you learn
Religion is something culturally rooted in people, but it can be
rooted in different ways

• people profess to be participants in a certain religion, when

in reality they did not actually follow its rules

• others who instead follow rules assiduously

Religion as a way to redeem yourself
In everyday life people make mistakes, and the need to ask for
redeem arise

This need is fulfilled by the possibility to ask forgiveness to God

Personally, I see this as a way to be freer on making actions

that can be defined unethical or wrong

Religions admit that the perfect being is not human, making the
human itself imperfect and therefore justified in carrying out
wrong actions
Religion as an action giustification
Important actions that can often be objectively defined as
unethical, are justified by religion itself

Just think of the human sacrifices that were made in the past or
the sacred wars

These are all actions that have led to the deaths of many people

The aim was to do good

Religion as an action giustification
Example: Aztec sacrifices
Religion as an action giustification
Thinking that a person actually has these beliefs, is it right to
label them as unethical? If a person really thinks that he is
doing the right thing, and that he is not doing it for himself but
for everyone, is it correct to say that that person is unethical?

“In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In

ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.” – Kant

What do you think?

Ethical Person VS Ethical Action
I thought it might make sense at this point to distinguish
between ethical people and ethical actions

It is difficult to blame a person who believes he is doing good,

because he grew up with certain beliefs

Should we blame the surrounding environment for unethical

actions? Like killing in honor of gods
Is Religion necessary to live ethically?
In my opinion this is not true. Aztec people were religious, but,
in my personal belief, not ethical

I believe that nowadays there are ethical non religious people

as well as religious ethical people. As well as religious but not
ethical people, and so on

Religion can help to follow some ethical guidelines

But at the same time does not allow you to reason about ethics,
since you are supposed to follow the rules even if you don’t
agree with them
Is Religion necessary to live ethically?
On top of that, history well taught us that religions have been a
mean of discrimination to others

So in my opinion, it is not absolutely true that religions are

necessary for ethical thinking
Is Religion necessary to live ethically?
On top of that, history well tought us that religions have been a
mean of discrimination to others

So in my opinion, it is not absolutely true that religions are

necessary for ethical thinking

RELIGION ETHICS
Is Religion necessary to live ethically?
On top of that, history well tought us that religions have been a
mean of discrimination to others

So in my opinion, it is not absolutely true that religions are

necessary for ethical thinking

RELIGION ETHICS
Is Religion necessary to live ethically?
On top of that, history well tought us that religions have been a
mean of discrimination to others

So in my opinion, it is not absolutely true that religions are

necessary for ethical thinking

RELIGION ETHICS
Thank you!
BIG CONCEPT
Interfaith
Religions ‘faster spread is one of the
result of Globalization
Religions that were born in certain places of the world now
have followers even in distant areas

The presence of marriages between people of different religions

is increasing

Indeed the number of interfaith children is incresing

More than one Religion in a house
means to achieve compromises
It is often advised against having mixed marriages between
two religions, even within the religions themselves

Marrying a person of a different religion certainly means

reaching compromises

Once you have a child, the path that can be taken are:
• A parent decides to leave his/her religion out and let the
child learn the other religion
• Both parents decide to leave religion completely out
My experience as an interfaith child
Christianity + Islam

I went to catechism and every Sunday I went to church, just

like every Friday I went to the mosque

One of my parents set aside his own religion more to make

room for the other

The other parent religion has been a huge presence in my life

My experience as an interfaith child
Having a strict religious parent influenced my growth

I have been told repeatedly not to touch people of the opposite

sex, to behave as God commands, to dress in a certain way

But at the same time I was living in a country where the things
I have been told not to do where normal

I wasn’t feeling only confusion, but more of frustration and

obligation to always pay attention
My experience as an interfaith child
A feeling of fear had formed within me

Fear of my parent who would otherwise be angry, which then

transformed in my eyes as God's will

It is not an easy concept to explain, and I think this applies not

only to interfaith children, but to anyone who has had a
restrictive parent

The point is that the fear of disappointment arises in me

My experience as an interfaith child
As we grow, that fear can turn into the fear of God itself if we
get closer to religion over time

Or simply into a feeling of uneasiness that accompanies us for

the rest of our life

Rationally we have come to the conclusion that certain things,

that we have been taught were wrong, are actually not wrong

We feel free to do them but at the same you feel guilty about
effectively doing them
My experience as an interfaith child
Growing up with two religions helped me:

• To develop a more critical thinking towards religion

• To know more cultures

• To ask myself often what is right and what is wrong

Discussion
Should we follow a religion just to respect our parents?

Should parents gain our respect automatically?

Are you religious? What is your experience with religion? Did

religion helped your ethical thinking?

What do you think about imposing religious ideas on the rules

that people must follow in a State?
BIG CONCEPT