Religious information

Shared belief in the "Golden Rule"
(a/k.a. Ethics of Reciprocity)

Quotation:

"Every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others, sharing other people's suffering. On these lines every religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal." The Dalai Lama

Overview

Religious groups differ greatly in their concepts of deity, other beliefs and practices. Non-theistic ethical and philosophic systems, like Humanism and Ethical Culture, also exhibit a wide range of beliefs. But there is near unanimity of opinion among almost all religions, ethical systems and philosophies that each person should treat others in a decent manner. Almost all of these groups have passages in their holy texts, or writings of their leaders, which promote this Ethic of Reciprocity. The most commonly known version in North America is the Golden Rule of Christianity. It is often expressed as "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."

One result of this Ethic is the concept that every person shares certain inherent human rights, simply because of their membership in the human race. People are individually very different; they come in two main genders; different sizes, colors, and shapes; many races; three sexual orientations; and different degrees of ability. They follow many religious and economic systems, speak many languages, and follow many different cultures. But there is a growing consensus that all humans are equal in importance. All should enjoy basic human rights.  The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is one manifestation of this growing worldwide consensus. _1,2

In our opinion, the greatest failure of organized religion is its historical inability to convince their followers that the Ethic of Reciprocity applies to all humans, not merely to fellow believers. It is our belief that religions should stress that their membership use their Ethic of reciprocity when dealing with persons of other religions, the other gender, other races, other sexual orientations, etc. Only when this is accomplished will religiously-related oppression, mass murder and genocide cease.

Some "Ethic of Reciprocity" passages from the religious texts of various religions and secular beliefs:

• Bahá'í Faith: 
  • "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah
  • "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
• Brahmanism: "This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517 "
• Buddhism: 
  • "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353 
  • Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18
• Christianity: 
  • "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12, King James Version.
  • "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31, King James Version.
  • "...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6. The Gospel of Thomas is one of about 40 gospels that were widely accepted among early Christians, but which never made it into the Christian Scriptures (New Testament).
• Confucianism:
  • "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" Analects 15:23
  • "Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3
  • "Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4
• Ancient Egyptian:
  • "Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to 1970 to 1640 BCE and may be the earliest version ever written. ₃
• Hinduism: 
  • This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517
• Humanism:
  • "(5) Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity."
  • "(11) Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings. " ₄
  • "Don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you, British Humanist Society. ₃
• Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." ₅
• Jainism: 
  • "Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." Acarangasutra 5.101-2. 
  • "In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self." Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara
  • "A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. "Sutrakritanga 1.11.33
• Judaism: 
  • "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18 
  • "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
  • "And what you hate, do not do to any one." Tobit 4:15 ₆
• Native American Spirituality:
  • "Respect for all life is the foundation." The Great Law of Peace.
  • "All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." Black Elk
  • "Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself." Pima proverb.
• Roman Pagan Religion: "The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves."
• Shinto: 
  • "The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form"
  • "Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God." Ko-ji-ki Hachiman Kasuga
• Sikhism: 
  • Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world". Japji Sahib
  • "Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." Guru Arjan Devji 259
  • "No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend." Guru Arjan Dev : AG 1299
• Sufism: "The basis of Sufism is consideration of the hearts and feelings of others. If you haven't the will to gladden someone's heart, then at least beware lest you hurt someone's heart, for on our path, no sin exists but this." Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order.
• Taoism:
  • "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien.
  • "The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful." Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49
• Unitarian:

"The inherent worth and dignity of every person;"
"Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.... "
"The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;"
"We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." Unitarian principles. _7,8

• Wicca: "An it harm no one, do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what ever you will, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). One's will is to be carefully thought out in advance of action. This is called the Wiccan Rede
• Yoruba: (Nigeria): "One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts."
• Zoroastrianism: 
  • "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself". Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5
  • "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others."  Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29

Some philosophers' statements are:

• Epictetus: "What you would avoid suffering yourself, seek not to impose on others." (circa 100 CE)
• Kant: "Act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature."
• Plato: "May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me." (Greece; 4^th century BCE)
• Socrates: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you." (Greece; 5^th century BCE)
• Seneca: "Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors," Epistle 47:11 (Rome; 1^st century CE)

Examples from moral/ethical systems are:

• Humanism: "...critical intelligence, infused by a sense of human caring, is the best method that humanity has for resolving problems. Reason should be balanced with compassion and empathy and the whole person fulfilled." Humanist Manifesto II; Ethics section.
• Scientology: "20: Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you." This is one of the 21 moral precepts that form the moral code explained in L. Ron Hubbard's booklet "The Way to Happiness."

Exceptions to the Ethic of Reciprocity:

• A few religions, such as Satanism and The Creativity Movement have what might be called an Ethic of Non-Reciprocity.
• There are some situations in which a strict application of the Ethic of Reciprocity is contraindicated because it can lead to harming others.
• Within the Holy Books of many religions, there are passages which contradict their own Ethic of Reciprocity. This usually happens when non-believers in the dominant religion are discussed. The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) for example contains:
  • Depictions of genocides against non-Hebrews,
  • Laws requiring execution of sorcerers, male homosexuals and non-virgin brides,
  • Accounts of the torture and rape of prisoners of war.

More information on this topic

Related essay on this web site:

• Exceptions to the Ethic of Reciprocity

• Is it OK to harm a few people in order to benefit the majority?

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. The English text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is at: http://www.un.org/
2. The text is available in other languages is at: http://www.unhchr.ch/

3. NationMaster.com has an encyclopedia reference that lists many Golden Rules, sorted chronologically at: http://www.nationmaster.com/

4. "Principles of Humanism," Humanist Association of Canada, at: http://canada.humanists.net/
5. This is Number 13 of a collection of 43 sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

   that was compiled by the great Islamic scholar Yahya bin Sharaf Ul-Deen An-Nawawi. It is is now known as "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths" See: http://www.dartmouth.edu/

6. The Book of Tobit is deuterocanonical, i.e. contained not in the Canon of Palestine but in that of Alexandria. It was accepted by some Jewish, Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions as part of the official canon but not by others.

7. "Our Principles," Unitarian Universalist Association, at: http://www.uua.org/

8. "My Seven Principles: A child's booklet," (The seven principles in a form easily understood by children), Unitarian Universalist Association, at: https://secure.uua.org/

Golden Rule resources:

CoNexus Multifaith Media and Paul McKena have published "Guidelines for Golden Rule Workshop." It can be downloaded from the Scarboro Missions web site, and may be reproduced subject to restrictions. A Golden Rule poster is also available. See: http://www.scarboromissions.ca/

Scarboro Missions in Ontario Canada have a large section on their web site devoted to the Golden Rule. Featured topics include:

• The Golden Rule poster which shows excerpts from the sacred writings of 13 religions that promote the rule. It is 22" x 29" (56 x 74 cm).

• Excerpts from the sacred writings of 13 religions in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian and German.

• Resources for group discussions.

• Golden Rule curriculum for schools, home schooling parents, etc.

• The Golden Rule and the environment.

See: Guidelines for a Golden Rule Educational Resources, at: http://www.scarboromissions.ca/

Sponsored links:

The Golden Rule poster is Copyright © Scarboro Missions 2002
The remainder copyright © 1995 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2008-AUG-23
Author: B.A. Robinson

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