AO1) Identify the argument for and against the view that morality is dependent on Religion.
The relation of morality to religion has been an issue of intense debate during the past century; it is a very diverse and controversial topic and many philosophers have attempted to explore and explain it, but still there remains the question of whether or not morality is dependant on religion or not.
To begin my argument, I will first explore in what ways morality is dependent on religion. In a lot of recent ethical philosophy, it is actively sustained that right moral actions are largely independent of religion. This could originate from the idea of how god is benevolent. This supports the belief that God would create morals in order to care for the human race; in “A Grammar of Assent (1947) John Henry Newman argued that all feeling of responsibility and guilt point towards god, therefore beginning to suggest the indication of how morality is dependant on religion.
Emmanuel Kant believed that humans have a moral obligation to be good as to get the ultimate reward of being united with God in the afterlife, and not be punished in the afterlife. Most religions state that if one follows the “rules” of the religion, one would have a positive afterlife in which they will be reunited with god i.e. Heaven. And if they sin throughout their lives, they will be punished in the afterlife, i.e. be sent to Hell. This would persuade religious followers to act by what religion says is moral as it is giving them a sufficient reason to do good and moral things. Kant suggested that morality pointed towards God, and humans have a moral obligation to bring about a perfect state of affairs called the sunnum bonnum, but believed there was not enough time to create this in one lifetime; therefore there must be an afterlife. In Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (1879-1880), the character Ivan says that “without God, everything is permitted” religion provides people with a reason to be...