Ethics Assighnment

Ethics: Lecture Notes: “Why Ethicists—Even Religious Ones—Do Not Appeal to Religion”

In our society, religion is viewed as very closely tied with ethics. Often, ethical rules are viewed as divinely given. And religious views often profoundly shape and impact our moral debates on homosexuality, euthanasia, abortion, and the death penalty.

However, as a rule, professional ethicists do not appeal to religion in trying to address these issues. Why? Well, one explanation could be that many ethicists just aren’t that religious. While it’s true that ethicists, along with scholars and scientists more generally, are less religious than the general U.S. population, there are far deeper reasons. In fact, even ethicists who are religious do not invoke religion when trying to resolve a moral dispute.

One core reason is that philosophers, which ethicists are (ethics is a branch of philosophy), are committed to the use of reason to resolve a controversy. The use of reason (as opposed to feeling) to resolve a dispute is the defining feature of philosophy. And reason, as Catholic philosophers have always agreed, is a tool available to all. (The relationship of Protestantism to reason is more vexed.) Ideally, philosophers want to produce arguments that can convince anyone of any religion. It’s no use to quote the Bible or the Koran to a Buddhist!

Another reason goes all the way back to Plato. These reasons were examined under the heading of Divine Command Theory in your reading for the first week, which introduced moral theory. Essentially, the idea is that if God (or the gods, for Plato, a pagan) exists, then if God issues moral commands, he/she does not just make them up. God does not just arbitrarily issue moral commands. No, God issues commands based on reasons. God wouldn’t issue a silly command like, “Thou Shalt Not Eat Cheetos … Only Doritos.” Any commandment has reasoning behind it. And those are the reasons philosophers are after. So assume God says, “Don’t Kill.” God didn’t just make that up for no reason. The idea would be that God prohibited killing for the good and happiness of society (a utilitarian justification) or that God prohibited killing because we are made in his image and, thus, have dignity and rights (a Kantian justification).

A final reason is more controversial. Many philosophers, even religious ones, just don’t think religious texts are infallible moral guides. For example, the Old Testament not only forbids homosexuality but commands that homosexuals (and many, many others) be stoned and some even burned alive. Even the most conservative among us wouldn’t think it appropriate to execute gays and lesbians even if we happen to disapprove of homosexuality. (Though unfortunately, there are countries like Iran, and some American pastors, who disagree.) And the New Testament, which likewise condemns homosexuality, contains passages explicitly condoning slavery. For example, Ephesians 6:5 says, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” (These passages and others like it were used to justify slavery in the American South.”)

Elsewhere the New Testament admonishes (Corinthians 14:34): “Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.” And so, even if one accepts a religious text as a moral guide, it is hard to know what parts should be heeded. One thing is certain; it isn’t justified to simply cherry-pick texts with which one agrees. For example, Jesus explicitly forbids divorce, but he makes no mention of homosexuality. It would seem easier to permit homosexuality than divorce. Additionally, religious texts do not, in general, offer fully worked out moral theories that we can apply to all situations. This is especially clear when we consider new technologies like genetic engineering.

So, in sum, this is why ethicists, even religious ones, do not appeal to religion in resolving ethical dilemmas.