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 | highly moral by one group of people, |
| morally neutral by others, and |
| profoundly immoral by another group. |
A person's moral code is derived from a variety of sources, including one's religious affiliation and worldview. (A worldview is a person's outlook on the world as determined by their basic beliefs in deity, humanity and the rest of the universe.)
Five controversies, selected out of many dozens of currently active debates, are listed below:
| Action & definition | Considered moral | Considered immoral | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Female Genital Mutilation: (FGM) Part or all of a young girl's clitoris is surgically removed. This leaves them with reduced or no sexual feeling. It is a common social practice among Animists, Christians, and Muslims in some parts of Northern Africa. It is incorrectly viewed by some as a uniquely Islamic religious requirement. | FGM is considered moral by some cultures in North
Africa, because they believe that it prevents:
Without FGM, the girl may not be able to marry in her culture. |
It is
considered immoral throughout most of the world, because:
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| Genocide: The "systematic destruction by a government of a racial, religious, or ethnic group." 1 The most serious genocide in the 20th century was the Shoah (aka Nazi Holocaust) -- the systematic round-up and murder of about 6 million Jews. | The German Nazi party during World War II considered the Holocaust to be a highly moral act, because it contributed greatly to their racist philosophy. They regarded the "Aryan" race as supreme. Their goal of exterminating every Jew in Europe was considered a great moral imperative. Even during the waning months of the war, the Holocaust was given the highest military priority. | The systematic destruction of a race, religion or ethnic group is now considered by civilized nations as the most serious possible crime. It is the ultimate violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 2,3 The U.S. has passed the anti-genocidal Proxmire Act. Other countries have similar legislation in place. The United Nations has laws which forbid genocide and make provision for the trial and imprisonment of those responsible. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spanking: The use by parents of corporal punishment in order to discipline their children and to both correct and control their behavior. | Many conservative Christians support spanking because
the biblical book of Proverbs requires it of them. See Proverbs 13:24, 19:18;
22:15; 23:13; 23:14; and 29:15. Solomon must have considered it an
important topic because he repeated the injunction to not spare the
rod a total of six times. Spanking children in order to correct and punish their bad behavior is a necessity for good parenting. To not spank is immoral because it leads to undisciplined children, who grow up to be misfits as adults. The Bible is inerrant and thus would not recommend an immoral or ineffective discipline method. |
Children need discipline, but should not be spanked.
Corporal punishment is immoral because:
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| Abortion: The termination of a pregnancy that is either unwanted or is dangerous to the woman. 90% are done in the first three months of pregnancy; over 9% in the second three months. | "Pro-choicers" generally believe that an embryo or fetus becomes a human person many months after conception -- perhaps at birth; perhaps earlier. Almost all believe that an early abortion is a moral choice, if it is needed for emotional or economic reasons, to permit education to continue, or for other reasons considered valid by the woman after consulting with her physician and spiritual counselor. | Pro-lifers generally believe that a just-fertilized ovum is a full human person. That little baby should have the complete set of rights enjoyed by any other citizen in the country, including the right to live. Thus, an abortion is an intentional homicide; a murder of a helpless human person. Some believe that all abortions are immoral; others that an abortion is a moral choice if it resulted from rape or incest. |
The above are only examples. There are many dozens of currently active, religiously motivated, controversies in the world today. Most have a strong moral component.
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Related essays on this web site:
| The Golden Rule and other Ethics of Reciprocity |
| "Hot" religious controversies menu |
| Bible passages that appear immoral by today's standards. |
| What the Bible says about human slavery |
| Genocide menu |
References:
- "Genocide," at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/
- The English text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is at: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
- The UDHR text is available in other languages at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/1/univdec1.htm
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Site navigation: Home page > Morality > Introduction > here |
Copyright © 2001 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2001-SEP-9
Latest update: 2001-OCT-18
Author: B.A. Robinson
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