Religious Ethics
Most
religions have an ethical component, often
derived from purported supernatural revelation or guidance. Ethics, which is a major branch of philosophy, encompasses right conduct and good
life. It is significantly broader than the common conception of analyzing right
and wrong. A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life
worth living or life that is simply satisfying, which is held by many
philosophers to be more important than traditional moral conduct.[1]
Contents
Contents
- 1 Buddhist ethics
- 2 Christian ethics
- 3 Confucian ethics
- 4 Daoist ethics
- 5 Hindu ethics
- 6 Islamic ethics
- 7 Jewish ethics
- 8 LaVeyan Satanist ethics
- 9 Neopagan ethics
- 10 Scientology ethics
- 11 Wiccan ethics
- 12 Secular ethics
- 13 Shinto ethics
- 14 Western Ethics influenced by the Bible
- 15 See also
- 16 Notes
- 17 Bibliography
Christian Ethics
Christian ethics in general has
tended to stress the need for love, grace,
mercy,
and forgiveness because of sin. With divine assistance, the Christian is called to become
increasingly virtuous in both thought and deed, see also the Evangelical counsels. Conversely, the Christian is also called to abstain from
vice.
Christian ethical principles are based on the teachings within the Holy Bible. They begin with the notion of inherent sinfulness, which requires essential atonement. Sin is estrangement from God which is the result of not doing God's will. God's will can be summed up by the precept: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself." Christian ethics are founded upon the concept of grace which transforms a person's life and enable's one to choose and act righteously. As sin is both individual and social, so is grace applied to both the individual and society. Christian ethics has a teleological aspect--all ethical behavior is oriented towards a vision of the Kingdom of God--a righteous society where all live in peace and harmony with God and nature, as envisioned in the Book of Isaiah. Specific ethical behaviors originate in the Old Testament’s Ten Commandments, and are enriched by teachings in the Psalms and morals contained in historical accounts, see also Biblical law in Christianity. Christian ethics is not substantially different from Jewish ethics, except in the exhortation to love one's enemy. Perhaps the greatest contribution of Christian ethics is this command to love one's enemies. It has been argued (see Chet Meyer's Binding the Strong Man, and John Yoder's The Politics of Jesus) that Jesus was wagining a non-violent campaign against the Roman oppressors and many of his sayings relate to this campaign--turn the other cheek, go the second mile, etc. Understanding these commands as part of a larger campaign makes it impossible to interpret Christian ethics as an individual ethic. It is both an individual and a social ethic concerned with life here on earth. Other tenets include maintaining personal integrity and the absence of hypocrisy, as well as honesty and loyalty, mercy and forgiveness, rejection of materialism and the desire for wealth and power, and teaching others in your life through personal joy, happiness and Godly devotion. There are several different schema of vice and virtue. Aquinas adopted the four cardinal virtues of Plato, justice, courage, temperance and prudence, and added to them the Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity (from St.Paul, 1 Corinthians 13). Other schema include the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven virtues. For more see Christian philosophy and Biblical law in Christianity. |
Buddhist Ethics
Ethics in Buddhism
are traditionally based on the enlightenedBuddha, or other enlightened beings who
followed him. Moral instructions are included in Buddhist scriptures or handed down through tradition. Most scholars of Buddhist
ethics thus rely on the examination of Buddhist scriptures, and the use of
anthropological evidence from traditional Buddhist societies, to justify claims
about the nature of Buddhist ethics.[2]
According to traditional Buddhism, the foundation of Buddhist ethics for laypeople is the Pancasila: no killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct, or intoxicants. In becoming a Buddhist, or affirming one's commitment to Buddhism, a layperson is encouraged to vow to abstain from these negative actions. Buddhist monks and nuns take hundreds more such vows (see vinaya). The sole reliance on traditional formulae or practices, however, can be questioned by Western Buddhists whose main concern is the practical solution of complex moral problems in the modern world. To find a justifiable approach to such problems it may be necessary not just to appeal to the precepts or the vinaya, but to use more basic Buddhist teachings (such as the Middle Way) to aid interpretation of the precepts and find more basic justifications for their usefulness relevant to all human experience. This approach avoids basing Buddhist ethics solely on faith in the Buddha's enlightenment or Buddhist tradition, and may allow more universal non-Buddhist access to the insights offered by Buddhist ethics.[3] The Buddha provided some basic guidelines for acceptable behavior that are part of the Noble Eightfold Path. The initial percept is non-injury or non-violence to all living creatures from the lowest insect to humans. This precept defines an non-violent attitude toward every living thing. The Buddhist practice of this does not extend to the extremes exhibited by Jainism, but from both the Buddhist and Jain perspectives, non-violence suggests an intimate involvement with, and relationship to, all living things.[4] Theravada monk Bhikkhu Bodhi has observed: "Buddhist ethics, as formulated in the five precepts, is sometimes charged with being entirely negative. ... [I]t has to be pointed out that the five precepts, or even the longer codes of precepts promulgated by the Buddha, do not exhaust the full range of Buddhist ethics. The precepts are only the most rudimentary code of moral training, but the Buddha also proposes other ethical codes inculcating definite positive virtues. The Mangala Sutta, for example, commends reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude, patience, generosity, etc. Other discourses prescribe numerous family, social, and political duties establishing the well being of society. And behind all these duties lie the four attitudes called the "immeasurables" — loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity."[5] perspective of the |