A.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

ETHICS AND RELIGION
• It is not difficult to see the weight of religion in various ethical issues such as
in the current debates surrounding highly controversial topics such as
reproductive health, the teaching of sex education in schools, same sex
marriage, and divorce. In most cases, people tend to consider these debates
not so much as discussion of public policies but as infringements of religious
belief adhered to by the majority of the Philippine populace.
• People see ethics as an extension of religion, hence, the commonthinking that
anything against religion is automatically unethical.There is really nothing
fundamentally wrong with equating ethics and religion.
• In fact, a predominanily Hindu society like india and various islamic
countries consider the close union of ethics and religion as the very
foundation from which people derive their identities as well as the vitality
and stability of their way of life.
For example:
India is home to multiple cultures all claiming to have originated from some
deities or archaic religious figures.
Life in India revolves around customary ritual practices and the performance of
religious laws, which govern day-to-day activities.
In fact, these ordinary objects, or other life forms in india are remarked with
religious significance. That ethics may be divorced from religion in a place like
India is unimaginable if next to impossible.
Islamic countries where religious tradition is as deeply rooted as in India. Any
person with a relative working in the Middle East can testify dominant influence
of Islam on Arabian customs, government policies, management system, and
even household practices, In fact, most Arab countries impose Islamic customs
on all individuals in their territories whether or not one is a Muslim.
• Christians are prohibited from carrying a bible, a crucifix, or any
Christian religious object. Clothing style and guidelines for social
interactions among members of the opposite sex are also strictly
observed.
• Non-compliance with these ordinances is not treated as ordinary
infractions of the law but an affront to Islamic religion that is meted with
severe penalty.
The tight union of ethics and religion appears to be a universal feature present
not only in Christian countries such as the Philippines but also in other societies
with rich and deeply rooted religious traditions.
For people in these cultures, religion is both a path to transcendence and a way
of life. Hence, the benefit a society receives from religion cannot be overstated.
In fact, a significant portion of our shared human heritage can be traced to
religion. What gives rise to problematic issues is not so much the close relation
between ethics and religion but a person's or a group's penchant to subject
religion to an extremist interpretation.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines extremism as the "belief and support

for ideas that are very far from what most people consider correct or
reasonable."
B. EXTREMISM: A GLOBAL
CONCERN
Malala Yousafzai is a native of Pakistan, in a district under the religious and
political control of theTaliban.

The Taliban is a religious sect within the Islamic religion that upholds and
enforces an excessively rigid interpretation of Islamic laws.

Under the Taliban rule, women are prevented from doing a multitude of
activities, from the mundane application of cosmetics or wearing of high heels or
even laughing out loud to such tasks as pursuing professional careers or
acquiring education. If the mere exposure of a woman's heels in a Taliban-
controlled society whipping in public, imagine what punishment awaits a woman
if she attempts to train for a profession or to obtain a college degree.
On October 9, 2012, on her way home from school, a man walked to her and
asked her if she was Malala. After knowing who she was, the man fired a gun at
her. She was shot in the head three times.

By some stroke of providence, Malala survived the assassination and, instead of

cowering fear, she continued to speak against the Taliban and the oppression of
children and women in stronger and bolder terms.

Her sacrifices and dedication gained global recognition when in 2014, Malala
was chosen to be the youngest recipient of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

The harrowing experiences women and children suffer under the Taliban rule in
Pakistan why some thinkers doubt the validity of considering religion as an
ethical norm.
Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic philosopher, once taught the religion and secular
life are not mutually exclusive. These are not two different worlds divided by
an impenetrable wall. Each may belong to a different domain but one does not
have to turn his or her back on one in favor of the others to attain human
fulfillment.
C. RELIGION AND THE
SECULAR WORLD
• The secular world is often contrasted with religion. To the former belongs
what may be described as “earthly.“
• Thomas Aquinas later challenged such view. He advocated the conjunction
between heaven and earth, spirit and matter, body and soul, and ethics and
religion.
• His monumental work Summa Theologiae envisioned human existence as a
journey of the coming from and returning God.
• The human person, according to Aquinas, must strive to live a life of virtues
so that he or she can grow steadily in increasing stages of perfection until one
attains ultimate happiness through and with God.
• Aquinas's notion of human existence is consistent with his understanding of
the nature of the human person. Just as the human existence for him is a unity
of experience, the human person for him is likewise one integral whole-
neither a body nor a separate soul alone but a union of both body and soul.
• Aquinas's ethics and theory of the human person can be a viable response to
any form of extremism.
• Back in the time of Aquinas, people were inclined to think of the human
person as a soul trapped in a material body.
• Bodily needs were deemed less important than spiritual needs due to the
misperception that one could prove his or her commitment to his or her faith if
she or he had ieast of concern for one's physical needs.
• The reverse of this statement is true today, that is, greater priority is given to
bodily needs to the detriment sometimes of spiritual health.
• Practically, all forms of injustices associated with religion are a result of a
failure to see the fundamental unity that characterizes both the human person
and the human life.
• Religion can function as an effective ethical norm only if perceived as an
influence well integrated into every facet of human life.
• The case of Malala under Taliban is the clear illustration of the point. In itself,
religion has no inherent conflict with ethics. Everyone, however, should be
cautious of those who use religion not to advance religious or humanitarian
causes but merely to secure their own agenda for power .
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!