Chapter 5:

Morality and Religion

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 Religion and Morality
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Three assumptions:

Religious belief is needed to get us to do our duty.
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Morality must be created by someone, and God is
by far the best candidate for the job.

Religious wisdom is the key to providing us with
moral guidance.

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 Religion and Moral Motivation

Assumption: Without belief in an afterlife,
many people would lack the motivation to
avoid immorality.


Note: This wouldn't show that God exists,
only that religious belief has practical
benefits.

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 Religion and Moral Motivation (2)

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Genuine moral character: doing the right
thing not out of fear of punishment or desire
for reward but rather because it is right.

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So, do those who act morally in pursuit of a
pleasant afterlife have good moral character?

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 Religion and Moral Motivation (3)


Atheists and agnostics are as capable as
theists of doing the right thing because it’s
right.

Atheist: One who believes that God does not
exist.

Agnostic: One who is unsure whether God exists
or not.

Theist: One who believes that God exists.

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 Argument for God's Creation of Morality

1) Every law requires a lawmaker.

2) Therefore, the moral law requires a lawmaker.
3) Humans cannot be the author of the moral law
(because we are imperfect in so many ways).
4) If humans cannot be the author of the moral law,
then God is its author.
5) Therefore, God is the author of the moral law.

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 Argument for God's Creation of Morality (2)

•Two worries:
• God may not exist (as atheists believe and
agnostics suspect).
• God may exist but not command us to do
anything.
• Deist: One who believes that God exists but does
not command us.

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 Divine Command Theory

Many kinds of good life
– What makes me happy might not make you
happy.

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Personal authority concerning well-being
– What makes you happy is up to you.

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 Attractions of Hedonism
1) Either God has reasons that support His commands,
or God lacks reasons for His commands.
2) If God lacks reasons for His commands, then God’s
commands are arbitrary—and that renders God
imperfect, undermining His moral authority.
3) If God has reasons that support His commands,
then these reasons, rather than the divine
commands, are what make actions right or wrong—
thereby refuting the Divine Command Theory.

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 The Euthyphro Argument
4) Therefore, either God is imperfect, or the Divine
Command Theory is false.
5) God is not imperfect.
6) Therefore, the Divine Command Theory is false.

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 The Divine Perfection Argument
1) If the Divine Command Theory is true, then a
morally perfect God could have created a flawless
morality that required us to rape, steal, and kill and
forbade us from any acts of kindness or generosity.
2) A morally perfect God could not have issued such
commands—anyone who did so would be morally
imperfect.
3) Therefore, the Divine Command Theory is false.

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 Religion and Moral Guidance

Final assumption: Religion is an essential
source of moral guidance.

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Religious believers who reject the Divine
Command Theory can still easily accept:
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An act is morally required if God commands it,
and is immoral if God forbids it.

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 Religion and Moral Guidance (2)

• Even if God exists and offers us moral advice,

there are two serious problems:
• We must select a source of religious wisdom
from many options, such as the Koran, the Book
of Mormon, or Christian scriptures.
• We must know how to interpret that source.

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Argument from Religious Authority
1) If the Bible prohibits abortion, then abortion
is immoral.
2) The Bible prohibits abortion.
3) Therefore, abortion is immoral.

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 Religion and Moral Guidance

Conditions for divine guidance:
1. God exists
2. We can be justified in believing God exists
3. God offers us moral advice
4. We can defend the claim that God offers us moral advice
5. We are justified in selecting a source of religious and
moral wisdom
6. We can defend specific interpretations of those sources
7. We can successfully argue for the priority of
interpretation or tradition when the two conflict

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