Benefits Of Secular Ethics

The interaction of previously isolated religious groups, such as those represented in the United States, has posed new challenges in developing moral and legal codes that all parties can agree upon. The term “religious ethics” describes a system of deriving moral beliefs from one’s religious teachings and values. The concept of “secular” or “humanitarian ethics” takes morality out of a religious context to establish claims about ethics based on human experience and reason. In a society where many religions possess conflicting views, secular ethics offers a means to reach a consensus on universal moral guidelines, allowing differing groups to coexist. This paper will explain the supremacy of secular ethics in religiously diverse contexts by examining the benefits and detriments of religious and secular ethics and their ability to function synchronously.

The main benefit of a religiously based system of ethics lies in its ability to create unanimous agreement among individuals of the same religion. The fundamental moral codes of a religion are generally predetermined by an indisputable deity or text, and thus cannot be debated between believers of the same religion. For example, there is no contention among Christians as to the morality of stealing, as the Ten Commandments state, “thou shalt not steal.” If an individual is caught stealing, a system based on Christian ethics can unanimously agree that it is something God would not approve of, whereas a secular system may