Religion has always been a symbol spiritual search, serving good and establishing Christian morality. At the same time, religion comforts, calms those who are lonely and bad in this world, gives examples of the life of the ascetics of the church (Sergei Radonezhsky, Seraphim Sarovsky, Ksenia Petersburgskaya), who rose above the bustle of everyday life and devoted themselves to serving the highest ideal, God, selfless help to people ... Thus, religion is inextricably linked with morality. However, at the same time, one should not at all conclude that believers have always been moral people, and atheists - on the contrary. Among those and others there were and are both immoral and highly moral people. The fact is that a person by nature is good and evil, and beautiful and terrible. It all depends on which way in life he will go, he is given a free choice.
The Bible says that for every person there are always two paths open: "the path of eternal life" - the narrow path and "the path of destruction" - the wide one. Many are following the latter path - the path of temptations and satisfaction of the flesh, consumerism and worldly vanity. This kills the essence of a person, his soul, since material needs are put in the foreground, love is directed only to himself. A person becomes an egocentric, guided only by his own whims and desires, he does evil not only to others, but above all to himself. As a result, the personality is destroyed. The desire to assert oneself, conceit and pride can lead to crimes, which was brilliantly analyzed by FM Dostoevsky in the novel "Crime and Punishment" on the example of the fate of Rodion Raskolnikov. If a person sees the meaning of life in serving people, in love for them and for all living and inanimate surroundings, then he acquires the true meaning of life. The narrow path, the "path of life" is the path of spiritual perfection, the path of spiritual purity, inner peace, the path of peace, righteousness and repentance. This is a difficult path, and few find it.
Moral ideals worthy of man were set forth in detail by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. What he said was unexpected and surprising to the listeners. If earlier it was considered quite fair to act according to the principle "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" or "love your neighbor and hate your enemy," then Christ appealed to the higher motives of human behavior, to a higher degree of spirituality. In the Sermon on the Mount, he speaks not so much of justice as love.
The first and main commandment is about love for God, who by his martyr's death atoned for the sins of people, conquered everything that is low and evil in them. The second commandment is about love for a person. These two commandments are linked, because God created man in his own image and likeness. This means that faith in God is impossible without faith in man, without high demands on him: "Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."
Moral perfection requires the solution of an even more difficult moral problem: to love not only one's neighbors, but also one's enemies. To love those who love you and greet your brothers - what is so special about that? But to love your enemies, to pray for those who offend and persecute you, to forgive those who hate you - the fulfillment of this commandment involves a lot of work on yourself on the path of moral improvement. It is very difficult, but it is necessary to strive for this as the highest ideal. In love for another, a person becomes more moral, purer. Either a kingdom of love will be established on earth, spiritual beauty and love will save the world, or humanity will perish. There is no third way.
The following was very surprising for the listeners of the Sermon on the Mount. Previously, it was believed that righteousness would be rewarded with earthly blessings - health, longevity, wealth, but Christ did not promise anything like that. On the contrary, he said that the righteous in earthly life will be persecuted and destitute, because their wealth is not in material things, but in spirituality. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."
Why do we need moral perfection, high spirituality? After all, life is finite, everything is perishable, death will erase everything. Maybe, in this case, you need to hurry and take everything you can from life? However, wealth, fame, power - all this is relative in life: today - a beggar, tomorrow - a king, today - an enemy, tomorrow - a hero. In addition, consumerism inevitably leads a person to degradation, disappointment in the goals set and spiritual emptiness come. A person is always looking for the highest meaning of life, strives for something eternal, harmonious, beautiful. Therefore, the main thing in the preaching of Christ is that he came to radically change the natural order of existence, herald the Kingdom of Heaven, a new type of immortal being. It must be actively brought closer. Thus, reading the Sermon on the Mount of Christ, one can come to the following conclusions.
First, constant moral self-improvement is necessary, refusal of temptations and trifles of earthly life. These are superhuman requirements, they contradict human nature and at the same time urge him to strive for the ideal.
Secondly, moral self-improvement by itself, without active transformation of the material world, is not enough. An active search for a new spiritual nature is required. This direction of human activity was deeply realized and developed by the Russian religious utopian thinker N.F. Fedorov (1828-1903) in his Philosophy of the Common Cause. The project of "regulation of nature" developed by him, the conscious management of evolution provided for the mastery of the forces of nature, the reorganization of the human body, and as a result - the achievement of immortality and the resurrection of ancestors. Fedorov called his teaching active Christianity, discovering in the teaching of Christ "cosmic meaning" - a call for the active transformation of the natural mortal world into an immortal, divine type of being. He tried to design a real bridge from earth to heaven, from natural to supernatural, i.e. ascent to higher nature. In the meantime, we, people of the 20th century, who have taken man himself as the Absolute and have come to moral degradation, should think about the need for man to strive for the highest ideal. This is taught by the Sermon on the Mount - an important code of laws of the spiritual life of society. The commandments set forth in it had a tremendous impact on the entire subsequent history of mankind, without them our civilization is impossible.
In the IV century. Christianity becomes the state religion and thus acquires the status of the "protective" ideology of the Roman Empire. In this capacity, religion subordinated to itself philosophy, art, morality, and science. Religious faith, which ensured a certain integrity of medieval culture, was the highest truth with which cultural values were correlated. With the development of culture, morality gradually began to challenge the monopoly of religion on the solution of the "eternal" problems of human existence. After all, God was thought at the same time not only as the creator of all “existing”, the present world, but also as the creator of “what should be,” a source of moral values and norms. And this presented theologians with the problem of theodicy, "the justification of God." Otherwise, how could one explain the presence of evil, since God does only good?
But if the relations between religion and politics, morality, art were determined by the solution of problems of an ideological regulatory order, then the relationship between religion and science must be considered in a different plane. one
The concept of religious morality is quite common in our life. This concept has long been accustomed to, it is widely used by scientists, publicists, writers and propagandists.
Most often, "religious morality" is understood as a system moral concepts, norms, values that are justified religious ideas and views.
Morality and religion are social phenomena, each of which has a qualitative originality. Speaking about "religious morality", it is necessary to correlate this concept with both religion and morality as forms of social consciousness, with a specific way of regulating human social behavior inherent in each of them.
The broadest interpretation of "religious morality" boils down to what is meant by it in general as the moral consciousness of the believer. So, V.N. Sherdakov, for example, notes: "Religion in the full sense of the word organically includes the doctrine of how one should live, what is considered good and what is evil; morality is an essential aspect of any religion." But after all, religious motives are not always behind the actions, intentions, thoughts of a believer. Therefore, I agree with the opinion of many scientists that the closeness of morality and religion in a number of external signs does not yet give a full reason to speak about the advisability of using the concept of "religious morality" in scientific and propaganda literature as internally logical and theoretically adequately reflecting a well-known phenomenon.
In order to better understand the meaning of the interpretation of "religious morality" let us try to find out the meaning of "religious commandments" and "morality".
Religious commandments imply considerations of the believer only of external expediency, which act as the motives of religious behavior. It is clear that this kind of motivation is contrary to the very spirit of morality. Thus, the attitude to goodness in religion seems to be very contradictory. On the one hand, good is declared to be the highest value, and good is done for its own sake. And this is an involuntary step towards morality, an involuntary semi-recognition of it, which, however, cannot be recognized as a religion in its entirety, since then there would be no place for religion itself.
In morality, the specific character of the motivation for following the moral norm is the originality of the moral moment itself.
Thus, the conditionality of the so-called "religious-moral" norm by the idea of God, the supernatural sanction of "religious morality" deprives it of its own moral content. “Therefore, one should agree with the opinion of V.V. Klochkov that“ the norms that are usually considered in our atheistic literature as “religious and moral” are in fact specifically religious norms. ”In other words, we are talking about the fact that one and the same social relations can be regulated by various types of social norms, each of which affects them in its own way, only inherent in it. "
Sanctions and criteria for religious and moral norms are different, as are the incentives for their implementation. Justification of the legitimacy of the use of the concept of "religious morality" cannot be based only on the statement of a number of features of the external similarity between morality and religion. "The concept of" religious morality "cannot be recognized as successful, because it mixes what should be different. nothing to do with either Christianity or religion in general. "
Moral principles and their role in guiding human moral behavior
The Principles are the most general rationale for existing rules and a criterion for the selection of rules. Principles express universal formulas for behavior. If values and ideals are, first of all, emotional-figurative phenomena, and norms cannot be realized at all and act at the level of moral habits and unconscious attitudes, then principles are a phenomenon of rational consciousness. For example, the principles of justice, equality, sympathy, reflexivity of morality, mutual understanding and others are the conditions for the normal life of all people.
Here's another short definition:
A moral principle is any principle that should determine moral will, such as joy (hedonism), happiness (eudemonism), benefit (utilitarianism), satisfaction of natural impulses (ethical naturalism), perfection (euphonism), harmony, etc.
The structure of morality is of interest from the point of view of the degree of complexity of the regulatory influence exerted by certain moral concepts. The simplest form of moral statements is the norm: "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," "Do this and that." The norm determines the behavior in some typical situations, repeated for millennia. Methods for solving them are communicated to us from childhood, usually we use them easily and without hesitation. And only violation of the norm attracts attention as a flagrant disgrace. In addition to outward observance of the rules, morality must penetrate into the soul of a person, he must acquire moral qualities: prudence, generosity, benevolence, and so on. Ancient Greek sages identified four basic human virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation and justice. Each of the qualities manifests itself in a variety of ways in a variety of actions. When evaluating a person, we most often list these qualities. But it is clear that each of the people is not the embodiment of all perfections, and one virtue may not atone for a heap of shortcomings. It is not enough to have separate positive features, they should complement each other, forming a common line of behavior. Usually a person defines it for himself, formulating some moral principles. Such, for example, as collectivism or individualism, selfishness or altruism. In choosing principles, we are choosing a moral orientation in general. This is a fundamental choice on which particular rules, norms and qualities depend. Loyalty to the chosen moral system (adherence to principles) has long been considered a dignity of the individual. It meant that in any life situation, a person would not leave the moral path. However, the principle is abstract; once the line of conduct is outlined, sometimes it begins to assert itself as the only correct one. Therefore, one must constantly check one's principles for humanity, check them against ideals. The ideal is the ultimate goal towards which moral development is directed; it is either an image of a morally perfect person or a more abstract designation of everything "morally superior". Will the ideal be realized in reality? As we approach it, we see that we are still far from perfect. However, one should not despair: the ideal is not a standard with which one must coincide, but a generalized image. The ideal inspires our actions, showing in today, in our soul today, what they should be. As we improve, we also improve our ideals, paving our own path to them. This is how the ideal develops a person. The loss of the ideal or its change turns out to be the hardest test, because it means the loss of a moral perspective.
In relation to all these levels of moral consciousness, the supreme regulator is the concept of the highest values of morality as such. These usually include freedom, meaning in life, and happiness. Value concepts form the basis of our moral orientation, they fascinate consciousness, permeate it from top to bottom. So the components of morality are interconnected in whimsical ways. Depending on the performed moral tasks, they are added to all new structures. Morality is not a fixed object for our eyes, but a functional formation. Morality is born of the movement of society and the individual, therefore it is in its functions that it truly reveals itself.
Loyalty to the chosen moral system (adherence to principles) has long been considered a dignity of the individual. However, the principle itself is abstract, therefore, at the next stage of the moral structure, there are values and ideals as the ultimate goal towards which moral development is directed.
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Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
SEVASTOPOL CITY HUMANITARIAN UNIVERSITY
Examination in social studies
On the topic: "Morality and religion"
Performed:
Sabitova Ekaterina
1. The concept of morality
Conclusion
Literature
1. The concept of morality
The very word (term) "morality" goes back to the Latin word "mores", which can be translated as "disposition", "custom", "character". In this regard, the word "morality" is a kind of tracing of the word "morality".
Morality is a rather complex phenomenon.
In everyday life, and sometimes in journalism, in popular literature, morality is understood as a set of rules, norms of behavior that regulate and direct people's actions. The peculiarity of morality lies in the fact that its prescriptions are universal, universal in nature and are applicable in a variety of life situations. Almost everywhere a person lives and acts.
It should be noted that there are a lot of moral norms: from the simplest, requiring delicate treatment of others to norms, extremely generalized, norms-principles - respect your elders, do not kill, do not steal, etc.
Along with morality, there is a layer of the highest values - life, freedom, respect for the honor and dignity of every human person.
It should be emphasized that it is the Highest Values that fill our daily life with completeness and spirituality, with a special meaning.
Spirituality, which has been much talked about lately, is perhaps the most clearly posed of this problem by Christianity, which, as a rule, speaks of the three-part structure of a person: body, soul and spirit. The soul often "serves" the body, is directed towards earthly joys, joys of communication with nature and other people. The spirit is always striving towards God, towards the Highest. For a true believer, religious preachers believe, the spirit dominates both the soul and the body. If the theologians' reasoning is "translated" into the secular and secular language, then spirituality should be understood as the desire of a person to correlate his existence, finite in time and space, with Eternity, to go beyond the boundaries of his being. It is these aspirations that fill the moral life with a high meaning, and morality itself is taken beyond the framework of simplified concepts, protecting it from reducing it to a set of simplest rules of behavior.
religion spiritual moral morality
2. The essence and functions of religion as a type of spiritual production
First of all, let us consider the religious interpretation of the problem of the origin of morality.
Kant once remarked that "the moral law reveals to me life, independent of living nature and even of the entire sensually perceived world." It seems that such ideas have been inherent in people since ancient times, when the rules, norms of communication between people were considered as the establishment of higher beings (spirits, later gods). The latter, moreover, encouraged virtuous behavior and punished vices. How widespread this opinion was, is evidenced by the fact that it was adhered to even by those whose religiosity was sometimes questioned. Thus, the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus (460-370 BC) stated: "The gods give people all that is good, both in ancient times and now." According to him, only those people are "kind to the gods who hate injustice." Similar judgments are easy to find in many other thinkers of antiquity.
Christian theologians traditionally speak of the divine nature of morality. The individual receives it both in the form of a "natural moral law" (internal law) and in the form of the god of the explicit (external) law.
The religious interpretation of the origin of morality has a number of advantages. First of all, it emphasizes the universal, universal character of morality. Divine precepts apply to all people without exception. Before morality, as before God, everyone is equal - the rich and the poor, and the king, and the president, and the last servant. Religious doctrine to a certain extent protects against a simplified, utilitarian approach to morality, raises moral quests to the lofty meaning of life questions. Within certain boundaries, religion is able to limit the scope of subjectivism, arbitrariness in moral assessments and judgments.
2.1 Similarities and differences between moral and religious consciousness
The problem of the interaction of religion and morality has occupied the minds of the most diverse thinkers since ancient times. And since antiquity, the most diverse, sometimes opposite points of view have been expressed on this problem. On the one hand, religious ideologists in past centuries and now quite categorically assert that morality cannot exist without religion, just like a tree without roots. It is in religion that morality derives the strength to do good, it is religion that provides a person with the meaning of his being, the highest moral values (God is the living embodiment of good).
It is interesting to note that ideas about the beneficial effect of religion on morality were also shared by those whose religiosity was very problematic.
Many centuries later (in the 18th century), the French educator Voltaire, who sharply denounced the Catholic Church, at the same time declared that if God did not exist, then he should have been invented in order to ensure the fulfillment of moral commandments: “ I want my manager, my wife and my servant to believe in God. I think that in this case they will steal and deceive me less. " Even an ardent atheist P.A. Holbach admitted that some people reject religion only because it is a shy bridle for them, prevents them from freely indulging in vices. But on the other hand, the opposite point of view on the nature of the interaction of religion and morality is also known from ancient times.
It must be admitted that the nature of the influence of religion on the moral life of a person depends on a number of factors, on the content of the religion itself (compare, for example, Christianity and the religion of Ancient Greece, whose gods did not differ in special morality), on what components of religion and for whose purposes used, from the historical era, the culture of the people, etc.
The complex, contradictory nature of the interaction of religion and morality is also due to their specificity, their differences (although sometimes they try to equate religion and morality). What are they? First of all, in the fact that morality is the path to Good, the highest moral values, to moral improvement. And religion is the path to God, rather the worship of God. These two paths may or may not be the same. It is unlikely that a believer will condemn Abraham (the biblical patriarch) for the fact that he was ready to sacrifice his son. From the point of view of morality, this act is completely unacceptable. Although the angel at the last moment stopped the killing of Isaac, yet Abraham's intention to kill his son was beyond doubt. In the name of saving the soul of a sinner, they were burned at the stake of the Inquisition. ethics or good deeds, and acceptance of God as life or Satan as death. In religious teaching there are specific concepts that are absent in moral consciousness. Namely: heaven and hell, sin (as a violation of God's commandments), repentance before God, redemption of guilt before God, etc. In addition, believers experience specific feelings - love for God, fear of God, before the torments of hell. Religion includes a cult (prayer, sacraments, rituals) that cause special moral experiences. Finally, religion has its own often highly developed organization. Morality, it is believed, does not have its own institutions, but relies only on conscience and public opinion.
But between religion and morality there are not only differences, but also a certain similarity. This is expressed, first of all, in the fact that religions, especially modern ones, are literally saturated with moral issues, concepts of moral consciousness (duty, shame, conscience (heart), justice, guilt, etc.). In the competitive struggle, various confessions, as noted by Vl. Soloviev, denounce each other precisely from the standpoint of morality. Unfortunately, only a few religious preachers point out the fact that religion cannot exist without morality. However, even Vl. Soloviev wrote that “it is equally possible to say that morality is based on religion and that religion is based on morality. After all, the moral norms arising from the feeling of shame, pity, piety are the unconditional expressions of Good itself ... History knows religions and religious institutions that are shameless, inhuman and thus impious.
It should be emphasized that not only religious, but also moral life is based on faith. In the first case - faith in God, in the second - faith in the triumph of Good, Justice, etc. In addition, both in morality and in religion, the emotional and sensory sphere occupies a significant place. A full-fledged religious life is impossible without deep feeling. Likewise, moral relations are difficult to imagine without a variety of experiences.
Morality and religion are brought together by a clear desire for the stability of their initial postulates (conservatism), as well as edification: believe in God! - the clergyman broadcasts; be fair, honest!
Finally, we note that the starting point of both religious and moral consciousness is the individual human personality. Vl. Soloviev wrote that religion protects the unconditional dignity of every human person (as an image of God). The same can be said for morality.
In a word, both morality and religion belong to the world of values, to the world in which not only and not so much reason acts as feelings, faith, inclinations and attachments, not dry "clerical" concepts, but images.
Thus, there are not only differences between religion and morality, but also many similarities. Moreover, in the course of historical development, religious consciousness is even more "burdened" with moral problems.
2.2 Contribution of religious thinkers to the development of moral culture
The mere statement of the fact that moral problems occupy a very important place in religious teaching inevitably leads us to the recognition of the noticeable contribution that religious thinkers have made to the development of the moral culture of mankind.
Let us note the main manifestations of this contribution.
1. First of all, it should be recognized that Christian authors considered, albeit specifically, the basic concepts of moral consciousness (good and evil, justice, moral freedom and responsibility, conscience, duty, guilt, etc.), tried to give their interpretation of the main problems of the theory of morality (the origin and essence of morality, its structure, functions of morality, etc.). It is not uncommon for the studies of theologians to be the starting point for secular ethics.
2. Religious preachers quite thoroughly covered the difficulties, contradictions of moral life and human personality. In particular, they described in detail the "good deeds".
The paradoxes of the inner world of a certain part of humanity are sharply exposed in the following words of the Monk Ephraim the Syrian: “I do not want to study, but I am glad to teach; I do not want to obey, but I love to obey; I do not want to work, but I want to approve others; I do not want to show honor, but I want to be honored; I hate reproaches, but I love to reproach; I do not want to be humiliated, but I love to humiliate. I am wise to give advice, and not to carry it out myself. " Theologians have rather thoroughly investigated the process of the "fall", the introduction to evil. Vl. Soloviev, relying on the works of church writers, identified three main steps in the mastery of bad instincts by our "I". At first, the Russian religious philosopher wrote, some bad idea arises in our minds, which "evokes the spirit to think about it." At this stage, one act of will is enough to reject this thought and thus leave the path of sin. However, if this did not happen, then this thought develops into a voluptuous picture, from which it is no longer so easy to get rid of. Here it is already necessary to distract the mind by "thinking in the opposite direction." But if this is not done, then our entire spirit is given over to sinful thoughts and enjoys it.
3. Many Christian preachers have expressed very useful advice for improving moral education, advice, which in our time amazes with its depth, penetration into the human soul. These tips can still be useful for any educator, teacher. Thus, the aforementioned Christian moralist Abba Dorotheos noted that, falling into backbiting, we often condemn those sins that we ourselves suffer from. And further: “Do not be too indignant for the actions that happen, but do not hesitate to show the harm that comes from the offense. Do not exact strictly for minor offenses, as if you yourself are completely righteous, and do not often expose, for this is painful and the habit of reproof leads to insensibility and neglect. Do not order imperiously, but with humility, as if advising your brother, for such a word is convenient and more convincing and soothing to your neighbor. " It is also reasonable to remark Abba Dorotheos about the fact that knowledge of virtue alone is not enough, for it is also important to have the skills to do good. Moreover, the affirmation of good is not so simple: without struggle, without sorrow, there is no virtue.
To a certain extent, the statements of the Reverend Father John Climacus echo with the judgments of Abba Dorotheos: “Through many efforts and efforts a good and well-ordered disposition is acquired in us; but what has been gained by many efforts can be lost in an instant. " And here is another of his very refined dictum: "When we are completely clean from lies, then, however, with fear and only at the required need, it will be possible to resort to lies." The following remark from Father John is also useful: "Never show respect to the one who speaks maliciously to you about your neighbor." And one more dictum of his: "Courage is obtained victory."
Quite a few more statements of this kind can be cited.
Contemporary Christian preachers continue the positive traditions of moral theology. For example, they recommend that pastors focus their attention on the best aspects of a person's inner world, "to see in each neighbor not his insignificance, but his possible greatness and serve this greatness."
4. Christian thinkers not only enriched the theory of moral education, but also directly introduced their flock to moral culture and educated it. In this regard, it should be noted that the clergy were engaged in moral education. In past centuries, an ordinary parishioner, in essence, only in a church could hear a moral sermon.
The process of worship itself has a tremendous educational impact. In the specific, uplifting atmosphere of the temple, the ordinary believer received the experience of ennobled interpersonal communication, perceived a high emotional and moral culture. The priests recommend that believers come to the service with the appropriate mood, to be cleansed spiritually and physically. In the process of worship, moral experiences can reach a rather high intensity and lead to a kind of catharsis, the purification of the soul.
Charitable activity, undoubtedly, has a high moral potential, it elevates both those who are directly involved in it and those around them. There were legends about the charitable work of John of Kronstadt, and now about Mother Teresa.
2.3 Contradictions of religious teaching about morality
At the same time, when revealing the moral potential of religion, one should not exaggerate it, let alone absolutize it. Moreover, not infrequently prominent religious figures, preachers themselves critically assess him, very restrainedly, and sometimes even sharply characterize the everyday life of ordinary believers.
The presence of sharp contradictions not only between different world religions, but also between individual varieties of Christianity, hardly has a positive moral significance. For example, some Orthodox authors criticize Western theologians for putting the second commandment of love for one's neighbor in the first place, and pushing the commandment of love for God into the background, i.e. they come from a merciful neighbor rather than from a merciful God. And this, in the opinion of Orthodox preachers, distorts the very foundations of morality, for a person is assigned too much of a place in it.
Ideologues of various varieties of Christianity appeal primarily to the Bible. This once again testifies to the presence in the Holy Scriptures itself of many different contradictions, diverse tendencies.
There are many acute questions for religious and ethical thought. For example, the question of the existence of evil. The attempts of religious thinkers to induce a person to come to terms with existing evil (suffering, injustice, etc.) are unlikely to find understanding among many believers. Likewise, as we have noted, the problem of freedom is also very difficult for religious ideologists. Absolute freedom leads to the diminution of the power of God. However, absolute freedom does not really exist, for a person at all times, in all circumstances is limited by something. But maybe really all the hairs on a person's head are numbered and not a single hair will fall without the will of God? In this case, a person ceases to be a person and turns into a robot, which is given a program of action. To what extent is man independent of God? This is a very difficult question for religious thinking. "The tragedy and paradoxical nature of ethics is connected with the fact that its main question is not at all the question of the moral norm and moral law, but the question of the relationship between the freedom of God and the freedom of man."
In recent decades, the problem of the relationship between serving God and serving man has become very acute for religious thought, i.e. between vertical and horizontal aspirations of the personality. On the one hand, if an individual devotes all his strength to serving the higher, upper world, preparing for the afterlife bliss, then duties to loved ones inevitably diminish, and sometimes even depreciate. In practice, this is expressed in leaving "headlong" in the fulfillment of the prescriptions of the cult (prayer, fasting, etc.). But in this case, the question arises about the importance of religion in solving many social problems. If, on the other hand, the believer is carried away exclusively by serving his neighbor, social life, then religious beliefs, preparation for afterlife and the behavior of the believer becomes little different from the life of the unbeliever. Harmony, as many theologians admit, is rarely achieved. In theological publications there is a latent and obvious struggle, a polemic between socially-minded modernists and conservatives who defend the priority of purely religious values.
The Christian understanding of the essence of man himself is also contradictory. On the one hand, he is the crown of creation, "the image of God," and on the other, man has a fallen nature tending towards evil. How, after such statements, to relate to a person, to his aspirations, his deeds? It should be admitted that accusatory motives still dominate in religious preaching. Thus, really high, humanistic impulses can be depreciated.
Conclusion
In atheistic literature, I think, not without reason was noted the fact that forgiveness in Christianity can be excessive, dangerous for everyday morality. There is even a saying: "If you do not sin, you will not repent, if you do not repent, you will not be saved." Such a practice can weaken moral burning, the desire for self-improvement, and the exactingness of oneself and others.
The cult of suffering, which is present in a number of works of theological thought to the present day, is not always acceptable for ordinary believers. In addition to anti-humanity, this cult is actually an expression of disdain for this "sinful" world, which must eventually be replaced by a "new heaven and new earth."
In a word, it can be argued that religious and moral preaching is not free from a number of problems and contradictions that weaken its moral potential. Therefore, this sermon should be treated not purely apologetically, but constructively, taking into account its positive and negative aspects.
Used Books
1. Lecture notes: The topic is the essence of morality
2. Popov A.A. "Ethics" - M., 1988.
3. Guseinov A.A., Apresyan R.G., "Ethics". - M., 1999
4. Frolov I.T. "Ethics of Science". - M., 1986.
5. Rauschenbach B. "Religion and Morality". - Banner, 1991, No. 1
6. Feiner "Science, Art, Religion". Problems of Philosophy, 1997, no. 5
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Culture and religion: functions, forms of existence, interconnection. Religion as a call to a meaningful life, components in its structure. Similarities and differences in assessing the role of religion and culture in human life. Modern aspects of culture in modern society.
abstract added on 12/21/2014
The origin and main components of world religions. Forms of Religious Beliefs. Development of shamanism, totemism, pantheism, ancestor cult, religious dualism, polytheism and monotheism. Study of modern rituals. The origin of Buddhism, Islam.
lecture added on 01/08/2015
The history of the emergence and development of religious beliefs. Traditional and new religious movements. The relationship of beliefs, art, morality and science. Analysis of the modern cultural and religious situation. The interaction of culture and religion in the modern world.
term paper added on 11/20/2012
The nature of the influence of religion on the development of society, depending on different religions. Study of Christian social concepts on the environmental issue. Contribution of certain religious views and values for the development of an ecological worldview.
Religious morality is a set of moral concepts, principles, ethical norms, formed under the direct influence of a religious worldview. Asserting that morality has a supernatural, divine origin, the preachers of all religions proclaim thereby the eternity and immutability of their moral principles, their timeless, supra-class character.
However, in reality, as Marxist-Leninist science shows, the source of morality lies not in the supernatural, but in the real earthly world, in the material, economic relations of people. Morality is a form of social consciousness and as such is determined by social being. In a class society, any system of morality has a class character, evaluates people's behavior in accordance with the interests of certain classes. The attempts of religious preachers to present the principles of religious morality as universally valid for all people united by one faith, for rich and poor, for exploiters and exploited, are aimed at concealing the class essence of religious morality. This class essence is reflected in the preaching of humility, patient enduring earthly hardships, passive hope in heavenly reward. According to V.I. transformation of society.
The norms of morality can be different in different religious systems. This is primarily due to the fact that they took shape in different countries, in different nations, at different stages of social development. But all of them were formed in the conditions of an exploitative society and sanctified the unequal relations of people that existed in the conditions of an unfair social system, antagonistic socio-economic formations. This, in the first place, determined the class essence of the moral principles of religion, expressing the interests of the exploiting classes.
As an integral part of religion, religious morality is overcome as religious prejudices are overcome, as new moral principles and norms are established in a just social system, free from exploitation and class inequality of people.
Christian morality. Features of Christian morality
Christian morality finds its expression in peculiar ideas and concepts of moral and immoral, in the aggregate of certain moral norms (for example, commandments), in specific religious and moral feelings (Christian love, conscience, etc.) and some volitional qualities of a believer ( patience, obedience, etc.), as well as in systems of moral theology or theological ethics. All of these elements together make up the Christian moral consciousness.
The moral consciousness of Christians is a socially and historically conditioned reflection of their practical behavior in the community and society. It originally arose as a reflection of the impotence of slaves and peoples enslaved by Rome in the struggle for their freedom and happiness. Christian morality in its subsequent development acquired some independence, manifested in the fact that the Christian moral consciousness in its archaic ideological-figurative content continues to exist up to our days, acting as a force that slows down the further moral progress of mankind.In its centuries-old historical existence, Christian morality has adapted to the social political interests of various classes, embodied in their class varieties: Christian-feudal Catholic and Orthodox morality, as well as Christian-bourgeois Protestant morality, on the one hand, on the other, into the Christian-democratic morality of medieval popular heresies and even Christian proletarian morality in the early stages of the labor movement ("Christian socialism"). For all that, Christian morality retained a stable religious and moral core, which makes it possible to single out Christian moral consciousness as an independent ideological phenomenon that possesses specific features that make it possible to distinguish it from other systems of morality, for example, from bourgeois-educational or, even more so, from atheistic proletarian morality.
Main feature Christian (as well as any religious) morality is that its basic provisions are put in a mandatory connection with the dogmas of the doctrine. Since the "divinely revealed" dogmas of the Christian doctrine are considered unchanged, the basic norms of Christian morality, in their abstract content, are also relatively stable, retain their strength in each new generation of believers. conditions carries the burden of dilapidated moral prejudices inherited from the past.
Another feature of Christian morality, arising from its connection with the dogmas of the doctrine, is that it contains such moral precepts that cannot be found in systems of non-religious morality. This is, for example, Christian teaching about suffering-good, about forgiveness, love for enemies, non-resistance to evil and other provisions that are in conflict with the vital interests of the real life of people. As for the provisions of Christianity in common with other systems of morality, they received a significant change in it under the influence of religiously-fantastic ideas.
In its most condensed form, Christian morality can be defined as a system of moral ideas, concepts, norms and feelings and the corresponding behavior, closely related to the dogmas of the Christian doctrine. Since religion is a fantastic reflection in the minds of people of external forces that dominate them in their daily life, to the extent that real interhuman relations are reflected in the Christian consciousness in a form distorted by religious fantasy.
Morality and Christian Commandments
Christian morality includes a certain set of norms (rules) designed to regulate relationships between people in the family, in the community of believers, in society. These are the well-known Old Testament commandments, the Gospel "Beatitudes" and other New Testament moral precepts. Taken together, they constitute what may be called the official, church-approved code of Christian morality.
Christian theologians consider the biblical commandments to be divinely revealed in origin and universal in their moral meaning, since God is one. However, the Christian-theological interpretation of the origin and essence of moral norms is completely untenable from a scientific point of view.
Marxism-Leninism proves the social conditioning of people's moral consciousness. Since the life of societies proceeded in conditions of class division of people, all the systems of morality that existed in the exploiting society were class and, therefore, there could not be a single, universal moral code.
This does not mean that there were no universal elements in the moral codes that existed in the past. Despite the existing significant discrepancies in the codes of morality of various classes, one can find in them some general requirements for the behavior of a person in any community, the simplest norms of morality, without which the existence of any community of people is impossible. Pointless cruelty towards one's neighbor, treachery, betrayal, debauchery, disrespect for elders, neglect of parental duty and some other similar actions were condemned by all codes of morality.
Christianity is an ideology that in its own way reflects the phenomena of social life. Naturally, when creating its own moral code, Christianity included in it some simple universal norms of morality. The simplest general requirements for the behavior of an individual in a team, which were reflected in the Old Testament ten words, were developed by the experience of collective life long before they were introduced into the texts of the Hebrew Torah. Such customs as the prohibition of the murder of a kinsman or fellow tribesman, the prohibition of marriages within a tribe, arose in the depths of the tribal system. The Mosaic Decade, like the entire Old Testament moral and legal code, was formed in the atmosphere of an emerging slave-owning state, created by the priests of the Jerusalem Temple. Naturally, being the ministers of the cult, the priests announced their moral and legal regulations in the name of God. So some simple norms of morality, adapted at that time to the conditions of patriarchal slavery, entered in the form of "divine commandments" (approximately in the 9th-7th centuries BC) in the sacred "books of the ancient Jews Exodus and Deuteronomy. Thus, it was not society that derived moral norms from the Bible, but, on the contrary, the Bible borrowed some of them from the experience of the real social life of people.
On closer examination of the commandments of the Old Testament decalogue, it is striking that they do not exhaust all possible moral precepts of universal human significance. You can add, for example, such elementary requirements for the behavior of a person: do not be lazy, respect knowledge, wisdom, do not offend, respect the human dignity of others, love your homeland - and other truths, the self-evidence of which is recognized by most people.
Attention is drawn to the fact that the first four commandments of the Decalogue by themselves have no direct relation to morality. They recorded the doctrinal and ritual prescriptions of the Hebrew religion, and not moral norms. The requirement of strict monotheism, the prohibition of the worship of other gods, the mentioning of the name of God in vain and the cult requirement of keeping the Sabbath are designed to regulate a person's relationship with God, and not with other people and society. For all that, however, the listed commandments had a harmful effect on morality, since for thousands of years they served as stable motives for fanatical intolerance, causes of persecution of different believers and “wars for faith.” The books of the Old Testament Bible are full of picturesque descriptions of all this.
On the one hand, religious ideologists in past centuries and now quite categorically assert that morality cannot exist without religion, just like a tree without roots. The French enlightener Voltaire, who sharply denounced the Catholic Church, at the same time declared that if God did not exist, then he should have been invented - in order to ensure the fulfillment of moral commandments: “I want my manager, my wife and my servants believed in God. I think that in this case they will steal and deceive me less. "
But on the other hand, it must be admitted that the nature of the influence of religion on the moral life of a person depends on a number of factors, on the content of the religion itself (compare, for example, Christianity and the religion of Ancient Greece, whose gods did not differ in special morality), on what components religions and for whose purposes they are used, from the historical era, the culture of the people, etc.
The complex, contradictory nature of the interaction of religion and morality is also due to their specificity, their differences (although sometimes they try to equate religion and morality). First of all, in the fact that morality is the path to Good, the highest moral values, to moral improvement. And religion is the path to God, rather the worship of God. These two paths may or may not be the same.
But between religion and morality there are not only differences, but also a certain similarity. This is expressed, first of all, in the fact that religions, especially modern ones, are literally saturated with moral issues, concepts of moral consciousness (duty, shame, conscience (heart), justice, guilt, etc.).
12. Morality in Christianity:
The ethics of Jesus Christ can be briefly defined as the ethics of love. We know about the life and teaching of Jesus Christ from the testimonies of his disciples and the disciples of his disciples.
The gospel (good news) tells that Christ is the son of God, born of the immaculate conception. He was sent to earth to prepare people for the last last judgment.
Jesus looks at our life (our world) as if from behind the looking glass - from eternity. He speaks of the end of time, when good and evil, light and darkness, life and death, separate each other with an insurmountable abyss. He speaks like a person who came from there. Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is near (the growing kingdom is the end of the world, the apocalypse).
Jesus reversed the established order of values. Jesus calls himself the son of man. The virtue of a son is obedience to the father. The son not only accepts the will of his father, he accepts it as his own. “A father loves his son” is the quality that makes a father a father. The man-son is likened to God the Father through love. The ethics of Christ is the ethics of love. The last admonition of Christ is to love one another.
Love is humble - love is active - love is selfless. Love for the enemy - deities. the height of the bang.
13. Morality in Islam:
Muhammad is the founder of the Muslim religion and civilization. The basis of his ethics. programs are - the idea of one God. In his opinion, the prerequisite and guarantee of individual happiness and social harmony was undoubtedly faith in God in the form in which God himself considered it necessary to reveal himself to people.
The essence of Muhammad's revelations was that God rules the world. God is absolute in all respects, the god of truth, justice and mercy. Only he can be the patron of a person, his support and hope.
The idea of one God indicates to the person his rather modest place in the world and at the same time obliges a person in a certain way, namely in a purely positive way, to relate to the world and, above all, to other people. GOD'S UNITY IS A GUARANTEE OF WORLD HARMONY. The human being must also be one. Faith is one, one cannot be divided into it.
