Determine Moral Principles Without Religion

Ethics is the branch of philosophy which encompasses the analysis and proposition of moral principles and the conduct of a just life. Many theists argue that a higher power is the only possible source for moral principles. Modern ethicists categorically deny that this is the case. If the ideas proposed by a religious text are good, they are good independent of the speaker. Determining moral principles without religion doesn't mean you can't be spiritual -- it simply means thinking through morals on your own instead of accepting them as fact.

Steps

Developing Your Personal Moral Code

  1. Consider the most certain principles of your life, the principles that you never violate. What are these principles and why are they important? For most people, aggressive violence falls into this category, as does stealing and lying. But this self-examination of morals is perhaps the most important step to determine moral principles without religion. It is okay, even expected, not to have full answers for every question, but you should ask them:
    • Is it ever right to commit a crime? Is it right to follow all laws or only those you agree with?
    • Is total honesty a good thing, or is it unattainable?
    • What is your line between helping your group or community and looking out for yourself?
    • Who or what are you loyal to? Do you ascribe to similar moral principles?
  2. Understand that this life is the only one we have. Morality should not say how we live in this life in order to obtain a better position in the possible afterlife. Instead, morality should maximize utility in this life, because there are very real issues and ideas on Earth that need your thoughtful care. One can concoct a moral code with many different goals and aims, but it remains that this life is the only one we have. This principle should never be far from your mind.
    • Your actions have consequences in the real world, for your life and the lives of others. Don't ignore these effects in an effort to plan for the afterlife-- make the most of your present situation.
  3. Consider the real-world causes and inspirations of amoral behavior. Religions (generally) believe that evil or bad actions are the failure of the individual. It is someone's fault, as they strayed from the moral tenants of religion out of selfishness, anger, or some internal evil or flaw. But most evil acts are the result not of consciously evil people, but rather the circumstances surrounding them. For example:
    • Rape and male violence can, in some circumstances, propagate the human race, as "evil" men like Genghis Khan created hundreds of offspring in their evolutionary (and sub-conscience) desire to spread his DNA. These violent tendencies still run in modern-day humans, as it was a highly "successful" genetic mutation to rape and pillage in ancient times.
    • Frequently, evil is done in an effort to survive, even if that effort is fundamentally misguided. While Hitler's actions are unquestionably immoral, what about the rest of the Germans that went along with it? The entire country was in horrible poverty and depression, and a charismatic leader convinced them he could return them to safety and wealth -- the choice wasn't considered moral, it was practical.[1]
  4. Continue reevaluating and adjusting your morals to be both up-to-date and consistent. This is a continuing task and one's moral principles must be updated as society progresses and new ideas and situations are discovered. One of the big mistakes in religious morality is that people assume that everything has been right for 2,000 or more years and that no changes need to be made to fit modern times. But this often betrays the underlying moral tenants of treating others fairly and avoiding violence, as modern-day sects of Islam can attest. Keep your mind more open than this and secular moral principles will soon become much clearer.
    • Everyone should spend time re-thinking their moral code to fit new problems and issues. Look no further than Pope Francis, who quickly set about reexamining and modifying centuries-old Catholic dogma about homosexuality, women, the environment, and capitalism.[2]
  5. Illustrate your moral code in actions, not just in thoughts. Think about your morals and follow them, whatever they may be. It doesn't make sense to have a set of moral principles which one does not abide by. Remember that other people have different ideas of morals, and accept that you can do no more than to follow your own code. Ultimately, your morality is going to be determined by your actions and words, not by your thoughts.

Exploring Non-Religious Moral Philosophies

  1. Consider modern ethical quandaries and dilemmas to deepen your moral principles. Physicians know that there is little that they can do to prevent the subject's death due to terminal (life-ending) illnesses. In such instances, is it okay to help a patient kill themselves peacefully, or should they be kept alive as long as possible? Meat production and consumption causes suffering to animals and the environment -- is it morally wrong to eat animals when you know that vegetarianism may be better for the planet? If you do, is it ethical to let your pets eat meat, or is it immoral to force carnivores to skip meat? If there is a war in a foreign country and civilians are being murdered, is it more moral to risk US troops to save them or to let each nation decide its own fate without intervention from outsiders? There are no right answers here -- only difficult questions that need to be asked.
    • Having an answer to a moral quandary, like those above, requires thought and detail. To truly determine moral principles, you'll need to do some research.
    • Keeping your arguments based on facts and reason often helps avoid the traps imposed by religious moral thinking.[3]
  2. Consider the Socratic philosophy of self-knowledge, where intelligence itself creates morals. Socrates, and many of his fellow Greeks, believed that ignorance or lack of information creates evil and bad behavior.[4] They argue that most people want to do the right thing, but never fully think out the repercussions of their actions. Most people do the "right" thing because it makes them happy, but you only know the right thing through honest review of the facts:
    • What are the long-term consequences of my choice?
    • Who else will my choice affect? Will it positively or negatively affect my relationships?
    • What is being lost in this decision? What is being gained?[4]
  3. Think through the biological motivations for generosity and altruism. Throughout most of human evolution, people lived in small bands where the members were closely related and likely to remain in contact with each other throughout their lives. Being altruistic to other members of the band strengthened the community, allowing its members to produce more successful offspring. The closeness of the community also put other members in a position to reciprocate, which directly aids and reinforces the moral codes. Colloquially, one might call this a win-win situation -- where helping others instead of competing with them allows everyone to be better off. From meerkats to schools of fish, and of course humans, morality doesn't come from a god, it comes from the evolutionary benefits of supporting each other.
    • Treating people with decency, honesty, and kindness is almost always repaid by favors from others and a safe, productive community to live in
  4. Consider "consequentialism," or the moral idea that "the ends justify the means." This seems much more heartless than it seems, as the "ends" is much more complicated than choosing the most selfish moral principle. Developed over many years and under many names, such as utilitarianism, this philosophy decrees that whatever produces the best results is the most moral principle to take. Of course, it is up to you to decide what "best results are," and there are only so many ways to determine this. Still thinking about the future results of your actions is a great way to develop useful, concrete guides for a moral life.
    • What counts as a "good consequence?" Make sure you consider how your decisions will affect others -- as your relationships ultimately affect you as well.
    • The outwardly "right" act, according to religion, is somewhat irrelevant. For example, stealing is "wrong" in most religions. But is stealing from the rich to feed your starving children really "immoral" if you consider the actual consequences?
  5. Examine the overlap of ideas between cultures to find common moral ground. Independent cultural overlap generally suggests that a moral principle is valid. For example, the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you") is not uniquely Christian and is, indeed, echoed throughout ethical philosophy across the globe. People everywhere agree that you should treat others with respect, indicating that this is a solidly human moral principle.
  6. Dive deeper into the moral writings of philosophers and religious thinkers. While the reader may consider many parts of religious (and philosophical) texts amoral and lack a belief in any deity, that does not discount the positive ideas of those writers. The writers of such texts were definitely human, and their ideas can be valid outside of the context of religion. Some famous ethical and moral tracts to start with include:
    • Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzche
    • The Moral Landscape,' Sam Harris
    • Ethics, Benedict de Spinoza
    • The writings of St. Augustine, Christian theologist
    • Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle
    • A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft[5]

Divorcing Morality From Religion

  1. Understand that the human intellect is the greatest tool that we yet know and that your rationale is important. Understand that the presence or absence of a higher power has no effect on your moral code, unless he or she were to provide a code that is superior to one that you can deduce on your own. In this case, a moral and logical atheist would accept such a code without question. However, despite its godly origin, such an atheist would still recognize the value in questioning this divine moral code in order to potentially obtain even greater moral right. If such as divine code is perfect, then questioning it only serves to support its greatness and make it stronger. As such, one should never fear questioning a moral code.
  2. Note that morality does not come from religion, but from communities who interpret religion. If a modern human were to stone to death an adolescent for not honoring his/her father and mother, we would certainly think him/her immoral. Yet, these are the prescribed punishments for such acts, according to Abrahamic texts found in the Old Testament. Since modern humans do not follow their religious texts to the letter, they must have some method for determining which prescriptions to follow and which to discard, which is ultimately where our morals come from. Ask yourself -- is this action "good" because God tells us to do it, or is it simply a good thing to do. If the action is only good because God says so, then morality is nothing more than a checklist, and there are likely few Christians who believe that murder is moral just because someone talked back to their father.
  3. Remember that true moral goodness occurs because you want to help, not because you have to. When something is a requirement, it's not actually moral anymore. Morality is about choice -- deciding to the right thing amongst many options. But if you're only doing the right thing because a religious leader or text told you to, or because you're scared of the consequences of hell, you're not actually being moral. You're being a sheep.
    • Never forget that the mass murders of the Spanish Inquisition and Crusades were considered "moral" because they were apparently backed up by the Bible. But anyone stepping back to think for themselves would have realized very quickly that senseless violence is never a good moral principle.
  4. Consider many of the clearly immoral positions of religions throughout history. Of course, many of the adherents of these religions would argue that they are the most moral of all -- but something is a bit off when multiple religions with conflicting ideas all claim moral superiority. Recognize that, if morality was purely derived from religion, a lot of the following events would likely not take place:
    • Christianity-sanctioned slavery and treatment of blacks as "sub-human" in America.
    • Radical Islamic terrorist attacks, civilian beheading, and suppression of women's rights.
    • Burmese Buddhists using human sacrifice to gain political power and control.[6]
  5. Understand that highly religious communities often have higher rates of violence and crime. The myth that "God is the glue that holds society together" is a complete myth. In fact, most countries and states with high religious belief and participation are actually the most dangerous areas to live in. Meanwhile, highly secular areas are strongly correlated with lower homicide, rape, and poverty levels.
    • Of course, this is a statistical trend, and there are exceptions. However, even US states match these trends, with secular states being safer than most highly religious ones.[7]
  6. Note that atheists tend to be less prejudiced, hateful, and against limited rights for minorities. Time and time again, it has been shown that atheists tend to be more tolerant than their strongly religious brethren. The reasons are multifold -- lack of religion erases antiquated rules and morals, and there is no inter-religious hatred and rivalry that can spur so many atrocities (like the Crusades). Either way, people who create their own moral codes, instead of waiting for someone to give them one, tend to treat others much more kindly.[8]
  7. Remember to still accept the good of religious thinking and morality. For all of its faults, organized religion is a major part of human society, and theologians of all faiths have pushed ethical and moral philosophy incredibly far, even if there are some mistakes. The biggest mistake is usually buying into religious morality wholesale, without considering the faults. Thinking for yourself, considering each principle on its own and not part of an antiquated belief system, can help you stay spiritual and religious without feeling like your moral code is already prescribed.
    • Morality will often be a mixture of ideas from many different cultures and religions, and closing your mind entirely to theological thought is just as limiting as only considering one religion.[9]

Tips

  • Steven Pinker wrote an interesting article about morality for the New York Times.
  • Read, think, and discuss. These abilities are uniquely human, and the fact that we possess them requires that we use them in order to better conduct ourselves.
  • Consider reading the moral writings of atheistic thinkers, modern ethicists, and theologians, such as Dawkins, Rand, Aristotle, Epicurus, Mill, Confucius, Kant, Nietzsche, Hume, and the various authors of the Abrahamic and Buddhist texts, to list some of the original author's favorites. Such readings can be dense and can be inaccessible to those outside of certain communities, but the communal knowledge provided by the internet can be incredibly useful for aiding in interpretation and understanding if taken in context. Lack of inclusion of many moral writings is not intended to impugn those writings.

Warnings

  • This article does not attempt to impose a specific moral code on the reader. Instead, it attempts to aid those seeking to live a moral life in finding a set of moral principles that the reader finds best. This is not moral relativism (saying that all moral codes are equal). The reader's moral code can be better or worse than the author's by objective criteria.
  • Some suggest that ethics is not simply a matter of opinion and that there exists a set of moral principles that are better than any other. In striving to find these principles, humans are destined to make mistakes. It is important to acknowledge this and rise above it by refining one's moral principles to suit this new information.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/begins.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-krattenmaker/pope-francis-prophetic-_b_4414410.html
  3. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-geoffrey-a-mitelman/do-we-create-our-own-mora_b_966367.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 William S. Sahakian; Mabel Lewis Sahakian (1966). Ideas of the Great Philosophers. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-1-56619-271-2.
  5. ↑ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-ethics/#FemEthHisBac
  6. ↑ http://listverse.com/2008/04/02/8-atrocities-committed-in-the-name-of-religion/
  7. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-secular-life/201410/secular-societies-fare-better-religious-societies
  8. ↑ http://www.salon.com/2016/04/08/atheists_tend_to_be_more_religiously_tolerant_than_christians_partner/
  9. ↑ http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/12/10/the-churchill-school-of-adulthood-lesson-1-develop-a-mighty-moral-code/
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