Morals, why do we have them?
Through religion , there is a great power. Where does this power come from? Does the power come from a supreme being or is there another layer to religion’s power source? Religious organizations have masses of followers that believe and live their lives according to the message promoted through their religion. Religious followers see growth through the masses of people that believe in a common message that provides them with a purpose in life. If there is a big following it gives reason for others to join and feel confident that they can believe it too. A large following validates the religion for newcomers and those already in it.
How do we know that anything around us is true? Every single one of us lives on the earth. Since childhood , we have been told that the world does not revolve around us. However, from our perspective, it does . Not one of us has ever lived in another persons ‘world’ or individual reality. We are our own person with our own lives, relationships, norms and day to day occurrences. How do we know that we are not the only person that is real and that everything around us is imagined? The thing is, we don’t know. Humans start life out with no awareness of anything. From our beginning of existence, we have strived to seek answers of the unknown. Though for a while we gain answers from those that have found them and may provide them to us. However, when we are left with no answers to a situation, people are uneasy and they tend to act out.
We live in a current example of this. Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic across the world, there are many unknowns about the end result of the coronavirus. The government has moved to suppress the spread of the coronavirus. The general public has fed into fear and paranoia brought on from the media reporting the pandemic often supported by facts — leaving their audience misinformed and panicked. Through this, most grocery stores are all sold out of food and cleaning supplies, and toilet paper is nowhere to be found. Humans left with the unanswered question of, “What will happen?”, results in chaos. Humans are incapable of acting rationally unknown circling about them.
Religion in our world gives us the ability to have some explanation of these unknowns. Since we struggle with the acceptance of the unknown, religion provides us with reasons as to why things occur. Why do people accept messages presented by churches to be true? Why do they believe in the explanations of occurrences? This is because they have a belief. They choose to accept believing in the explanation that is openly present rather than having no answers.
Is it more than a need for an explanation of life? Does it also give a needed purpose to those that have a lack thereof? People need a purpose, to be told what to do, they need direction to have a meaning to life. No, I am not saying that free will isn’t essential. It certainly is. Like a growing child learning the ways of life and the world, people, like children, need boundaries. Religion outlines a moral code which acts as a boundary for its followers. These moral codes provide a rough guideline to followers. These guidelines provide a weighing of people’s actions to see to what extent they may be right or wrong. Following moral codes will, in effect, appease the supreme being of their religion. Thus, giving them a purpose in life that they can be content with. Those looking either consciously or unconsciously for a purpose will cooperate with said guidelines to feel fulfilled. In most religions, followers want to appease the ‘greater being’ to in return get rewarded.
There are billions of people on the face of the earth as well as hundreds of countries. There was a study conducted called ‘Morality as Cooperation,’ through The University of Oxford in which they examined data chosen from sixty countries picked dispersed through the world. They found that the function of morality is to promote cooperation. The ideals supporting morality within a religion is to make yourself, as a person, better. As well as the functions of society since most religions promote neighborly love, peace and dealing with others positively. Imagine if everyone followed promoted moral guidelines, the masses would be in cooperation with those in power. For a long time, those in power did not have a separation of church and state. Therefore, those in power had all the power. With cooperation from the believers of the church, they would cooperate with their rulers. The people that obeyed the rulers were seen as good citizens and good in regard to the religion of the country.
Typically, religious groups will promote good morality. The small summary of the overall message religious groups share is to be a good person to have a good life and in some cases a good afterlife. World wide we typically view those that follow the basis of good morals to be good people and those that do are not. However, is it that they are good people because they are ‘morally good’ or is it because they are cooperating with overall society?
The power that is held within morality, worldwide is incredible. Despite the countless interpretations of why and how humans should follow the same similar framework and overall morale, it is still relevant. Morality is the glue that holds our world together. Not the moral framework that it gives, but the motivation behind it. The motivation to be good and unknowingly cooperative. The purpose that is given by the motivation to morally be a good person gives structure to all societies and allows the human race to keep growing in every area of their existence.
Resources
Societies Evolved Without Belief in all Powerful Deity
https://www.nature.com/news/complex-societies-evolved-without-belief-in-all-powerful-deity-1.17040
Morals Don’t Come God
https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.55
But For Religious People to do Real Evil you Need Religion
