Morality

=== Positions ===
Within the wide range of moral traditions, religious value systems co-exist with contemporary secular frameworks such as [[consequentialism]], [[freethought]], [[humanism]], [[utilitarianism]], and others. There are many types of religious value systems. Modern [[monotheistic]] religions, such as [[Islam]], [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and to a certain degree others such as [[Sikhism]] and [[Zoroastrianism]], define right and wrong by the laws and rules set forth by their respective scriptures and as interpreted by religious leaders within the respective faith. Other religions spanning [[pantheistic]] to [[nontheistic]] tend to be less absolute. For example, within [[Buddhism]], the intention of the individual and the circumstances should be accounted for in the form of [[Merit (Buddhism)|Merit]], to determine if an action is right or wrong termed.<ref>Peggy Morgan, "Buddhism." In {{cite book |title= Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions |edition= Second|editor1-first=  Peggy|editor1-last= Morgan|editor2-first= Clive A. | editor2-last= Lawton|year= 2007|publisher= Columbia University Press|isbn= 978-0-7486-2330-3 |pages= 61, 88–89}}</ref> A further disparity between the values of religious traditions is pointed out by [[Barbara Stoler Miller]], who states that, in Hinduism, "practically, right and wrong are decided according to the categories of social rank, kinship, and stages of life. For modern Westerners, who have been raised on ideals of universality and [[egalitarianism]], this relativity of values and obligations is the aspect of Hinduism most difficult to understand".<ref>{{cite book |title= The Bhagavad Gita: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War |last=  Miller|first = Barbara Stoler|year = 2004|publisher= Random House|location= New York|isbn= 978-0-553-21365-2 |page= 3}}</ref>

Religions provide different ways of dealing with moral dilemmas. For example, there is no absolute prohibition on killing in [[Hinduism]], which recognizes that it "may be inevitable and indeed necessary" in certain circumstances.<ref>Werner Menski, "Hinduism." In {{cite book |title= Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions |edition= Second|editor1-first=  Peggy|editor1-last= Morgan|editor2-first= Clive A. | editor2-last= Lawton|year= 2007|publisher= Columbia University Press|isbn= 978-0-7486-2330-3 |page= 5}}</ref> In monotheistic traditions, certain acts are viewed in more absolute terms, such as [[abortion]] or [[divorce]].{{Ref label|A|a|none}} Religion is not always positively associated with morality. Philosopher [[David Hume]] stated that, "the greatest crimes have been found, in many instances, to be compatible with a superstitious [[piety]] and devotion; Hence it is justly regarded as unsafe to draw any inference in favor of a man's morals, from the fervor or strictness of his religious exercises, even though he himself believe them sincere."<ref>[[David Hume]], "The Natural History of Religion." In {{cite book|title=The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever|title-link=The Portable Atheist|editor-last=Hitchens|editor-first=Christopher|editor-link=Christopher Hitchens|year= 2007|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-0-306-81608-6|page=30}}</ref>

Religious value systems can also be used to justify acts that are contrary to contemporary morality, such as [[massacre]]s, [[misogyny]] and [[slavery]]. For example, [[Simon Blackburn]] states that "apologists for Hinduism defend or explain away its involvement with the caste system, and apologists for Islam defend or explain away its harsh penal code or its attitude to women and infidels".<ref>{{cite book |title= Ethics: A Very Short Introduction|last= Blackburn|first= Simon|author-link=Simon Blackburn|year= 2001|publisher= Oxford University Press|location= Oxford|isbn= 978-0-19-280442-6|page= 13}}</ref> In regard to Christianity, he states that the "[[Bible]] can be read as giving us a carte blanche for harsh attitudes to children, the mentally handicapped, animals, the environment, the divorced, unbelievers, people with various sexual habits, and elderly women",<ref>{{cite book |title= Ethics: A Very Short Introduction|last= Blackburn|first= Simon|author-link=Simon Blackburn|year= 2001|publisher= Oxford University Press|location= Oxford|isbn= 978-0-19-280442-6|page= 12}}</ref> and notes morally suspect themes in the Bible's [[New Testament]] as well.<ref>{{cite book |title= Ethics: A Very Short Introduction|last= Blackburn|first= Simon|author-link=Simon Blackburn|year= 2001|publisher= Oxford University Press|location= Oxford|isbn= 978-0-19-280442-6|pages= 11–12}}</ref>{{Ref label|E|e|none}} [[Elizabeth S. Anderson|Elizabeth Anderson]] likewise holds that "the Bible contains both good and evil teachings", and it is "morally inconsistent".<ref>[[Elizabeth S. Anderson|Elizabeth Anderson]], "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In {{cite book|title=The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever|title-link=The Portable Atheist|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-306-81608-6|editor-last=Hitchens|editor-first=Christopher|editor-link=Christopher Hitchens|location=Philadelphia|page=336}}</ref> Christian [[apologists]] address Blackburn's viewpoints<ref name="colley1">{{cite web|last=Colley|first=Caleb|title=Is Christianity a Threat to Ethics?|url=http://espanol.apologeticspress.org/articles/240427|publisher=Apologetics Press|access-date=3 May 2012}}</ref> and construe that [[Halakha|Jewish laws]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]] showed the evolution of moral standards towards protecting the vulnerable, imposing a death penalty on those pursuing slavery and treating slaves as persons and not property.<ref name="enrichmentjournal1">{{cite web |url=http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201102/201102_108_slavery.htm.cfm |title=Does the Old Testament Endorse Slavery? An Overview |publisher=Enrichmentjournal.ag.org |access-date=2012-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005034831/http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201102/201102_108_slavery.htm.cfm |archive-date=2018-10-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Humanists like Paul Kurtz believe that we can identify moral values across cultures, even if we do not appeal to a supernatural or universalist understanding of principles – values including integrity, trustworthiness, benevolence, and fairness. These values can be resources for finding common ground between believers and nonbelievers.<ref>See Weber, Eric Thomas. "[http://www.ericthomasweber.org/Weber-RPRH.pdf Religion, Public Reason, and Humanism: Paul Kurtz on Fallibilism and Ethics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014235128/http://www.ericthomasweber.org/Weber-RPRH.pdf |date=2013-10-14 }}." ''Contemporary Pragmatism'' 5, Issue 2 (2008): 131–47.</ref>