What is the Relationship of Morality to Your Religion/Faith?

[RandallS]

It seems to me that morality is intimately connected to some religions but is less apparent with others. I know this is a very broad question, but how is morality related to your faith? Are your moral beliefs guided and sustained by your religion? Or did you pick a deity based on pre-existing moral beliefs? Some combination? Neither? The omnipresent other?

[HeartShadow]

It seems to me that morality is intimately connected to some religions but is less apparent with others. I know this is a very broad question, but how is morality related to your faith? Are your moral beliefs guided and sustained by your religion? Or did you pick a deity based on pre-existing moral beliefs? Some combination? Neither? The omnipresent other?

I'm going to have to split things up a few ways on this one.

My personal relationship with my deity - no, that's not really moral-related, other than my refusal to cross any of the preexisting moral lines in that relationship. Were I asked to cross my moral boundaries, that would be problematic, but it's never happened. Comfort zones, yes, but not moral code.

My RELIGION - FlameKeeping - is directly connected to my moral beliefs. The concept that we are both individual and part of a greater Whole, and need to embrace both truths simultaneously, informs the entire body of work of FlameKeeping. The details of interpretation fall upon each Keeper - we all have to find our own way of handling our separation and connection. But the base of it, the worldview, is inherently a morally-guided one, and one that in turn guides morality. They're interlaced and inseparable.

[Kylara]

It seems to me that morality is intimately connected to some religions but is less apparent with others. I know this is a very broad question, but how is morality related to your faith? Are your moral beliefs guided and sustained by your religion? Or did you pick a deity based on pre-existing moral beliefs? Some combination? Neither? The omnipresent other?

I believe my sense of morality is a part of who I am. What I feel is right or wrong is something that developed as I grew up, and while it may be adapted as I hear new arguments for some things, it has mostly remained constant.

I don't feel I picked my religion or deities based on my moral code, but rather my morals might have drawn me towards things that meshed well with what I believed. I think that it would be hard to follow a path or a deity that didn't share my deepest beliefs.

[thorsvin]

It seems to me that morality is intimately connected to some religions but is less apparent with others. I know this is a very broad question, but how is morality related to your faith? Are your moral beliefs guided and sustained by your religion? Or did you pick a deity based on pre-existing moral beliefs? Some combination? Neither? The omnipresent other?

As a Heathen, this one can be both easy and tough to answer. There's the idea of "We are our deeds" which, no matter who you talk to is true enough. However it's hard to figure out how that is supposed to integrate into daily life. Some people have tried to solve the problem by compiling a list of the "Nine Noble Virtues." And while not lacking in virtue (pun intended), for me they remind me far too much of the 10 commandments.

Personally I think a good way to look at it is since our deeds literally shape the course of our lives and influence who we are, all we can do is act in a way that we can be proud of. To be able to look back over your life in complete satisfaction and pride is a good goal. By extension our own web of wyrd is constantly being interwoven with the threads of other people, so when we are acting we must take consideration of how our actions affect other people.

So in a sense we are responsible for our own actions on a metaphysical level as well as a social level, and that's how religion informs morality for a heathen. A nice contrast, I think from monotheistic religions that turn to God to tell them how to act. We don't need that, we KNOW how to act.

[RandallS]

My personal relationship with my deity - no, that's not really moral-related, other than my refusal to cross any of the preexisting moral lines in that relationship.

That's pretty much the way I feel. My moral code is based on reason and what my family taught me when I was young. Any deity who asks me to violate my moral code is going to be told "no". Note that doesn't mean my deities can't try to convince me to change my moral code, but to do so they will have to convince me that my morals are incorrect and their proposed morals are correct and they will have to do so with reason as I do not buy into "divine command morality".

[Altair]

My moral code is based on reason and what my family taught me when I was young.

Same here. My moral code does not derive from my religion. If I subscribed to a religion that conflicted with my moral code, I would abandon that religion for another one.

That's not the case; in fact, my religion reflects my morality and is infused with it, but there is no dogma, and there's plenty of room for interpretation. In the course of the myths certain values become clear and various behaviors are modeled, from which one can draw one's own moral conclusions.

But my religion is primarily about understanding the universe and our place in it. That intersects with morality, but moral instruction is not its main goal.

[Altair]

There's the idea of "We are our deeds"....
Personally I think a good way to look at it is since our deeds literally shape the course of our lives and influence who we are, all we can do is act in a way that we can be proud of.

My religious view has some similarities. For me, the universe is an ongoing act of creation, in which we are an integral part--simultaneously the creation and the creators, as there is no separation between the two. Once we're dead, the universe continues, and so we live in how our lives shaped that universe, for better or worse. Our deeds are our only immortality.

[Melamphoros]

My moral code is based on reason and what my family taught me when I was young.

This. My moral code is based off of common sense and has zero to do with my religious beliefs. Heck, if anything my beliefs dictate that in the end, morality doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

[Marilyn/Absentminded]

Heck, if anything my beliefs dictate that in the end, morality doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Pretty much the same thing here. Most of the myths and stories around my deity are about how to get what you want, rather than whether it's right to want it in the first place.

If anything, I think that I have slightly better morals than my deity, but that may only be because I haven't run into anything I wanted enough to disregard them. Yet.

Absent

[veggiewolf]

...
My RELIGION - FlameKeeping - is directly connected to my moral beliefs. The concept that we are both individual and part of a greater Whole, and need to embrace both truths simultaneously, informs the entire body of work of FlameKeeping. The details of interpretation fall upon each Keeper - we all have to find our own way of handling our separation and connection. But the base of it, the worldview, is inherently a morally-guided one, and one that in turn guides morality. They're interlaced and inseparable.

This matches how morality fits into my religion as well. In addition, for me morality is a fluid thing; what is "moral" in one situation may not be in another. It is that ability to adapt when required that truly shapes my moral life.

My relationship with my gods, well, let's just say I've yet to be asked to do anything that is immoral.