DOES MORALITY NEED RELIGION

Does Morality Need Religion

Abbigail Thompson
Nelson High School

DOES MORALITY NEED RELIGION

Morality and religion are two topics that can shape the individual into who they are, but
are often confused with one another. Morality is defined as the principles concerning the
distinction between right and wrong, or good and bad, which can also be described as what the
individual naturally, naively, believes without the opinions of external forces such as society and
family. Religion is defined as the belief and worship of a superhuman controlling power, and a
system of faith and worship. Religion is what the individual is taught and brought up to believe
in by external forces such as their religious forums and family. The purpose of this paper is to
determine if the individual can have good morals regardless of if the individual were to follow an
organized religion or were to strictly follow their native morals. Religion often influences the
individual's behaviours, attitudes, or how the individual identifies themselves but it does not
determine the individual's native morals, and does not determine whether or not the individual
needs an organized religion in order to consider themselves an individual with good morals.
Morality is instilled upon us at a very young age. Growing up as children we begin to act
upon our initial instincts which lead us to discover what is considered right and what is
considered wrong. Young children who are beginning to develop their moral identities are
constantly observing and constantly learning from those around them. Children are always
observing their elders and those who hold authorial positions in their lives, and will develop their
own sense of what is right and what is wrong based on what they see and what they are taught by
those individuals. There have been studies that are researching and trying to learn about teaching
children values and morals, and according to a major survey by the organization Public Agenda,
more than six in ten American adults identified as a very serious problem young peoples
failure to learn fundamental moral values, including honesty, respect, and responsibility for

DOES MORALITY NEED RELIGION

others. (Weissbourd, 2009). Weissbourds article (2009) informs the reader that children do not
have difficulty determining what is right and what is wrong, it is just that some individuals
choose to ignore their values in order to remain neutral in the social scale. For example, some
kids may be worried that if they say that another kid is doing something wrong, that the kid who
was doing something wrong will start to pick on them or treat them poorly.
John B. Watson, conductor of the Little Albert experiment, believed that learning can
alter the way an individual interprets the world around him or her and can lead to permanent
behavioural changes. With the results of the Little Albert experiment, the theory of behaviourism
became a key factor when social scientists are studying the outcome of individuals.
Behaviourism is the theory that states that certain behaviours are based in childhood memories
and these experiences are predictable and modifiable. Certain behaviours are taught and expected
as children grow older, become more self aware, and are influenced by others around them.
Those who hold authorial positions in the lives of individuals often have a heavy influence on
ones morality. The way the individual is brought up is a significant factor to how the individual
develops over their lifetime, and the early years of a childs life are crucial in the development of
their morals.
The kind of parenting that they are brought up with has a heavy influence on the outcome
of the individual and their morals because the three different parenting styles can shape each
individual differently. The three different parenting styles are permissive, authoritarian, and
democratic. The permissive parents are those who have no rules, are inconsistent with
punishments, and often have no rules. Through this parenting style, it can be assumed that the
individual will have more altered morals than those of their elders because they have full control

DOES MORALITY NEED RELIGION

of their decisions and have no external restraints. They will fully depend on their native morals
which can be easily altered if the individual lets them. Authoritarian parents, also known as
helicopter parents are more strict and their punishments are more harsh. This sometimes
involves physical punishment or verbal. Through this parenting style, it can be assumed that the
individual will adopt morals from their elders since their parents are more strict and are not as
lenient when it comes to certain opportunities and events. In certain circumstances, the
individual can derive a more rebellious attitude which can lead to corrupting their native morals
that they have adopted from their family. Democratic parents are the most ideal because they are
a mix of both these parents. They can be strict at times but are also lenient, and there is no
physical punishment. Through this style of parenting, it can be assumed that the individual will
be aware and connected to their native morals but will also be aware of the influences that come
from external factors such as their family, peers, workplace, social media and the government.
The style of parenting that one is brought up by can alter the individuals morality because if the
individual can be aware of their native morals but is also aware of the influence external factors
can have upon their morals, they are able to control how much they become affected by those
external forces. This connects to the primary study of the topic of if morality needs religion
because the individuals initial values are what determines their moral identities, and allows the
individual to have a mature sense of self. It is believed that the individual does not need religion
in order to have good morals, and when the individual is taught good morals by influences such
as their elders, and learn to truly know themselves it is more likely that the individual with attain
and keep those morals that they have adopted for themselves for the rest of their life.

DOES MORALITY NEED RELIGION

Religion is practiced by many people in many different cultures around the world. In
Windras essay on Religions and Moral Ethics to Human Behaviour, Windra says that,most
religions tend to derive morality, ethics, or preferred lifestyle by their religious doctrines or laws
and that with knowing how people adopt their morals from religion, the question becomes
would morality and ethics still exist without religions? And how much do religions actually
influence our behaviour as human beings? (Windra, n.d). This is one of the questions that is
being explored through this study. Religion is one of the agents of socialization that people
believe shape individuals into who they are. Different religions will preach different values and
beliefs that will work for those who follow a religion and will shape the individuals morals but,
religion itself will often lead to conformity and conflict. Individuals whose families follow and
organized religion such as christianity, judaism, muslim, etc, are conformed and taught to follow
a certain set of beliefs and gain a certain idea of what their values should be at an early age.
Conflict will often arise when the individual connects with their native morals or become
influenced by external factors that can alter their morals from what was taught and what is
ultimately expected from them. Originating from the idea of Marxist theory where groups with
opposing interests are in conflict, the conflict theory is concerned with the inequalities that
plague society. Ralf Dahrendorf expanded on this theory to state that society is subjected to
constant change and that change brings disorganization and conflict. Ultimately, the subject of
change is often what leads to conflict. A change in beliefs, a change in values, the change of
religion within the individual will arise conflict between the individual and those who surround
the individual closely.

DOES MORALITY NEED RELIGION

Although religion plays a large role in the shaping of an individual, there are other factors
that come from the individuals native morals that are even stronger than religion which leads the
discussion of if morality needs religion. In Windras essay she explains how there are some
things [in a religion] that might be unsuitable to our own values as human beings (Windra, n.d.).
Those who do not follow an organized religion cannot be instantly labelled as bad individuals
because they do not follow a religion. As human beings we naturally have a sense of what is
right and what is wrong which often leads us to make decisions to help others. Windra says in
her essay that there are three basic motives that lead us to help, 1. Help is an institute reaction to
promote the welfare of those genetically similar to us (evolutionary psychology). 2. The rewards
of helping often outweighs the costs, so helping is in our self-interest (social exchange theory). 3.
Under some conditions, powerful feelings of empathy and compassion for the victim prompt
selfless giving (the empathy-altruism hypothesis). (Windra, n.d.). This shows that there are
alternate ways for the individual to gain their since of morality that is not from religion.
It is believed that the individual can still have good morals regardless of whether or not
the individual strictly follows a religion. Organized religion is now an outdated concept that is no
longer relevant in the discussion of if morality needs religion. In conclusion, my secondary data
has proven that morality does not need religion because there have been studies and theories that
prove that the individual does not need religion in order to have and keep good morals.
Everyones morals can be altered by external forces such as how the individual is raised, and
who they surround themselves with, but it does not prove that the individual natively has a set of
morals that they are born with and grown upon as they age and learn more about themselves and
society.