Secular morality

Secular morality grounds judgments about right and wrong in human reason, welfare, or social agreement rather than religious authority or supernatural belief.

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Moral naturalism: The view that moral facts or properties are part of the natural world and can be investigated through reason or evidence. It grounds moral claims in the natural world rather than revelation.
Divine command theory: The view that moral obligations depend on the commands or will of God. It grounds obligation in divine authority, the basis secular morality rejects.
David Hume: A Scottish philosopher whose work examined human understanding, moral sentiment, and the limits of reason. His account of sympathy and moral sentiment offers a non-theological basis for ethics.
Human rights: Rights held by every person, commonly understood as universal protections against abuse and discrimination. Secular accounts often justify these protections through dignity, interests, or reciprocal agreement.
Is–ought problem: The philosophical challenge of deriving claims about what ought to be done from statements about what is the case. It tests whether facts about human needs alone can support moral obligations.
Humanism: A philosophical outlook that emphasizes human dignity, agency, and flourishing, often without reliance on supernatural beliefs. Its emphasis on human flourishing supplies a common secular basis for moral concern.
Religious ethics: Ethical reasoning and practice grounded in religious traditions, teachings, or authorities. It illustrates moral frameworks that draw on religious sources.
Immanuel Kant: An eighteenth-century German philosopher known for an influential account of moral duty grounded in reason. His ethics derives moral duties from rational principles rather than religious command.
Bioethics: The study of ethical questions arising in medicine, biology, and health care. It applies public reasoning to contested choices where religious authorities disagree.
Moral motivation: The question of how, and whether, moral judgments motivate people to act. A secular account must explain why recognizing a moral reason should move anyone to act.