Morality and religion
Morality and religion is the philosophical study of how religious beliefs and practices relate to moral principles, judgments, and behavior.
Divine command theory: The metaethical view that moral obligations depend on the commands of God. It makes divine authority the direct source of moral obligation.
Ethics: The philosophical study of right and wrong, good and bad, and how people ought to live. It is the broader inquiry in which questions about religion's moral role arise.
Euthyphro dilemma: A dilemma asking whether the gods love the good because it is good or whether it is good because they love it. It exposes a tension between morality independent of God and morality created by divine command.
Buddhist ethics: The moral teachings and practices in Buddhism, including non-harm, compassion, and disciplined conduct. It grounds ethical practice in liberation from suffering rather than obedience to a creator God.
Religion and politics: The study of how religious beliefs, institutions, and identities interact with political power and governance. Moral claims grounded in religion often enter lawmaking and public debate.
Natural law: An ethical tradition holding that reason can discern moral principles grounded in human nature or cosmic order. It explains moral duties through an order believers may regard as created by God.
Metaethics: The branch of ethics examining the nature, status, and meaning of moral judgments. It clarifies whether religious claims ground moral truths or merely express commitments.
Secular ethics: Ethical reasoning and theories that do not depend on religious authority or belief. It offers accounts of moral judgment that do not require religious premises.
Christian ethics: Moral teachings and traditions shaped by Christian scripture, theology, and communities. It shows how ideas such as love, grace, and divine command inform moral judgment.
Religious pluralism: The coexistence of multiple religious traditions within a society, often with recognition of their differences. Plural societies must negotiate moral disagreement across religious communities.