Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

GEC 2108 Page iv

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

Course Learning Outcome

Module Learning Outcome

MLO 1. Develop a Module Learning Outcome

critical and
knowledgeable view
on pluralism,
CLO7. Develop sensitivity fundamentalism, and
to the common good. globalism.
CLO8. Internalize the
principles of ethical
behavior in modern MLO2. Identify the TLO1. Explain the
society at the level of the important moral meaning of
person, society and in challenges of globalization
interaction with the globalization
TLO2. Describe
environment
millennial and
fillennials
MLO3. Compare
responses to shared
moral dilemmas of
baby bloomers and
millennials

GEC 2108 Page iv

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

Course Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ii

Academic Honesty Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOPICS PAGE TIME ALLOTMENT
(MINUTES)
The Religious Response: The Role of 1 64.8
Religion in Ethics

Assignment 12 60

Formative Assessment 12 60

GEC 2108 Page iv

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

Academic Honesty Clause

Plagiarism is the use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author
and the representation of them as one’s original work. (1995 Random House Compact
Unabridged Dictionary)
In the academe, it is an adaption or reproduction of an original intellectual creation, be
it concepts, ideas, methods, pieces of information or expressions of another author, whether
individual, group, or organization without proper acknowledgment. Moreover, plagiarism can
range from borrowing a particular phrase or sentence to paraphrasing someone else’s original
idea without citing it. The most common form of plagiarism, especially nowadays, is copying
and pasting online material without crediting the source.

Every student must practice Academic Honesty. Academic misconduct is subject to

an academic penalty by the instructor and/or disciplinary sanction by the College.
I _____________________________ fully understood the definition and description
of plagiarism stated above and I am familiar with the Student Conduct Code. I am aware that
I shall be penalized if plagiarism is found evident on my output which includes, gaining a
failing grade.
As a college student and a member of scholarly community, I shall value other
people’s ideas. Thus, I pledged to commit to the following truthful statements:

1. I shall not submit other people’s work and present them as my own.
2. I will not take any passages from their own previous work without adding
citations.
3. I will not rewrite someone else’s work without properly citing sources.
4. I shall not use quotations without citing the source.
5. I will not interweave various sources together in my work, without citing.
6. I will not rely too heavily on other people’s work.
7. I shall bring original thought into my own work.
8. I will not disclose any exams/questionnaires/activities after I have taken them.
9. I will not copy any material from another student and submit it as my own.
10. I shall not share my own completed output to another class/student.

__________________________
(Signature over Printed Name)

REFERENCE:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-collegesuccess-lumen1/chapter/academic-honesty/
GEC 2108 Page iv
ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

https://www.business.umt.edu/et

GEC 2108 Page iv

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

The Religious Response: The Role of Religion in Ethics

 Ethics is concerned with what is good and moral based on reason. This is what religion is also
concerned about, what is moral based on God's revelation. So religion is not contrary to
ethics. Religion is in support of ethics.

 To an Asian author Sim Kwang Yang, the question is, "Is ethics possible without religion?. If
the question is one on a matter of fact, his answer is a resounding "yes." According to him,
two great philosophers, mely Socrates and Confucius "expounded their ethics without
recourse ny supernatural being." Likewise, Yang cites two modem period philosophers, the
utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who also dealt with their ethical
theories without appealing to the existence of God.

 Thus, as a matter of fact, there can be, as there has been such a thing which may be termed
as "religionless" ethics or morality

 However, the same author clarifies that if the question is, "can ethics without religion be
justified, ultimately?" then the answer is no. It is good to quote Dostoevsky again, "If God
does not exist, then everything is permissible." If we continue with the syllogism it will go as
follows: "But not everything is permitted. Therefore, God exists." There is moral restraint
among individuals and there is moral restraint among people in society, because there is in
them a voice telling them to behave.

 Charles Taliaferro, echoes in his Philosophy of Religion Dostoevsky's moral argument for
theism:

..certain features of human moral experience are best accommodated on a theistic

world view. In particular, the common claim is that moral realism...calls for theistic metaphysical
or epistemological underpinnings. Immanuel Kant reasoned, for instance, that if there is no God
then there are objective moral requirements that are not possibly met namely, that the moral
good of virtue and the natural good of happiness embrace and become perfect in a "highest
good." The early 20th-century idealist philosophers Hastings Rashdall and W.R. Sorley argued
that an objective moral law requires an infinite Mind in which to reside if it is to have full
ontological status. C.S. Lewis offered a popularized version of such an argument in a series of
talks for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) during WW II. These were later published in
his Mere Christianity. Lewis argued that conscience reveals to us a moral law whose source
cannot be found in the natural world, thus pointing to a supernatural Lawgiver. Philosopher
Robert Adams has argued that moral obligation is best explained by appeal to the commands

GEC 2108 Page 1

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

of a loving God, and moral values in general may be thought to reflect God's nature.[3]
(emphasis in bold letters supplied)

 It may be said that this life of "not permitting oneself to do anything", that is living a moral
or ethical life, is attributed not only to him/her who openly professes his/her faith in God.
It can also be attributed even to those who claim to deny the existence of God but actually
affirm Him in their actual life. A person's life can be an implicit affirmation of God. You may
be reminded of a poem you came across in your literature classes entitled Abou Ben Adhem

Abou Ben Adhem

By Leigh Hunt

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace.
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold.
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?"-The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night

It came again with a great awakening light
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed.
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest,

 Hence, one should not feel so much sorry for people whom we think live a religionless or
atheistic life. The ultimate assessment of one's life should be based on what one does, his/her
love for his/her fellowman. The poem's message is actually found in the Gospel where Jesus
said, "whatsoever you do to the least of my bretheren, that you do unto me."

GEC 2108 Page 2

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

The Role of Religion in Ethics

 A longstanding debate has been whether ethics plays a role in religion. Most religions have
an ethical component. Ethics, which is a major branch of philosophy, encompasses right
conduct and good life. It is significantly broader than the common conception of analyzing
right and wrong. Ethics deals with ideas such as Right, Good and Duty and these concepts
were discussed in ancient Greece by Plato and Aristotle in the 3rd & 4th Century BCE.
 A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply
satisfying, which is held by many philosophers to be more important than traditional moral
codes. The ancient Greeks called it eudaimonia or happiness. The ancient Greeks believed
happiness was brought about by living one’s life in accordance with virtue – positive traits of
character. Virtue in the highest sense, in an adult who has been brought up well, will not just
involve good personal habits such as courage and temperance, but also friendship and
justice and intellectual virtue. The essence of virtue is in the wholeness of the person
brought about by integrity.
 The influential philosopher, Immanuel Kant defended the idea of God as a basic requirement
of ethics. We ought to be virtuous and do our duty, he said. Kant believed virtue should be
rewarded by happiness, and it would be intolerable if it were not so. Since it's clear that
virtue often does go unrewarded in the present life, Kant argued that the soul must be
immortal. Virtue must receive its due recompense in a future life, and there must be a God
guaranteeing that it is so rewarded. The existence of God and the immortality of the soul
were what Kant called the postulates of practical reason - the assumptions without which, so
he claimed, ethics and a moral life would not be possible.

 Revealed religions like Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam do prescribe some
clear and unambiguous rules to follow. If their scriptures were authored or dictated by God,
then the commands in them are God's own commands. They cannot be changed if human
circumstances change or ethical ideas progress.
 If religion has a role in moral decision-making, then what should be that role? In America, for
many individuals, their religion is a centrally defining characteristic of who they are, such
that they would be nearly incapable of making ethical decisions independently of their
religious beliefs.
 Further, some of our most basic moral sentiments are directly connected to religious
ideology. For example, most people agree that things like murder and adultery are always
wrong, regardless of circumstances. Most major world religions echo these sentiments, and
it can be argued that the ancient codes of conduct these traditions embody are actually the
original source of our social intuitions. At a minimum, we do seem to regard religion as a
good source of basic moral guidance, making it unwise to argue that there ought to be no
connection between religion and ethics.
 The link between religion and morality is best illustrated by the Golden Rule. Virtually all of
the world’s great religions contain in their religious texts some version of the Golden Rule:
“Do unto others as you would wish them do unto you”. In other words, we should treat
others the way we would want to be treated. This is the basic ethic that guides all religions.
If we do so, happiness will ensue.
 I’ve studied other religions and identified the following religious tenets that speak to the
Golden Rule:

(Source:https://www.ethicssage.com/2012/09/the-role-of-ethics-in-religion.html)

GEC 2108 Page 3

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

Ethics and Religion

 Both ethics and religion are concerned with the most fundamental questions of human
existence. Religion draws answers to what is moral and ethical from revelation as written in
Scriptures and as "lived by their prophets and Jesus Christ (for Christians). Ethics gets its
answers to what is moral and ethical from reason and experience. It doesn't mean that
theists don't use reason when they determine what is right and In fact, even those for whom
morality is religiously based may want to examine their views based on reason. They may
want to examine various interpretations of their religious principles for internal consistency
or coherence." (MacKinnon, B., et al, 2015)

 It is not true that ethics is atheistic or opposed to religious belief. The role of religion in
ethics is this: religion is the foundation of ethics, for theists. Religion makes clear and
concrete what is ethical through revelation. Theists draw their ethical views from their
religion.

 Religious ethics concerns teachings and practices of what is right or wrong, good or bad,
virtuous or vicious, from a religious point of view. The definition of “religion” is controversial.
A definition favored by the Supreme Court is that religions are traditions that are anything
like Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism.

 A more detailed definition to consider is: A religion is a tradition and practice based on a
conception of what is real and significant (God, Allah, the Tao, Brahman, etc.), and the belief
that sin, vice, disillusionment, and illusion may be overcome by grace, meditation, practices,
and living in harmony, unity, or wise concord with what is real and significant. A Christian
ethic, for example, may be informed by Jesus’ radical teaching about loving one’s neighbor,
being a good Samaritan, loving one’s enemies, and the like.

 The majority of the world’s population consists of self-identified members of some religion.
While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled out compulsory prayer, in the same ruling it states: “It
might well be said that one’s education is not complete without a study of comparative
religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization.” To
not study world religions is to not inquire into a vital part of human history and life today.
Here in the U.S., our population is woefully ignorant of world religions. A recent poll showed
that only 38% of adult Americans know that Vishnu and Shiva are gods or divine beings in
Hinduism. The majority do not know the Five Pillars of Islam or the Four Noble Truths of
Buddhism, and only 50% of adult Americans can name one of the four gospels in the New
Testament. If you are thinking of engaging in international relations or working in a
pluralistic religious culture (medicine, law, business of any kind, politics, governance,
architecture, the arts, and more), a working knowledge of world religions is essential.

GEC 2108 Page 4

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

 There is no evidence that the tendency to self-identify with a religious identity is declining
among world populations. Islam continues to grow, and while Christianity has atrophied in
some European countries, worldwide it continues to grow, remaining the largest religious
population in the world. Roughly 40% of Africans are Christian, and 40% are Islamic. About
half the world’s population is made up of self-identified Christians and Muslims, and there
are roughly a billion Hindus.

 Predictions by mid-20th century sociologists that modernity (increased education and

technology) would usher in a secular age seem dubious. While some of the “new atheists”
assume many religious believers are under-educated, studies show no such correlation. In
fact, in terms of non-question-begging criteria, religious believers have above average
credentials in terms of education.
Another reason to study religious ethics is simply that it is possible that one or more
religious worldviews may be true. Common to most religions is the understanding of the
cosmos as a meaningful forum in which we share a responsibility for each other, to care for
the vulnerable, and to pursue justice. Most world religions hold that evil, sin, illusion, greed,
and cruelty should not exist. If such a religious view of values might be correct, there is
definitely reason to study the coherence, resources, promises, and challenges of religious
ethics.

 A possible religious foundation for ethics is important to explore, as it is not obvious that
secular naturalism can provide a fully satisfactory foundation for ethics.

 The study of religious ethics is also recommended given the great importance of
interfaithdialogue, which pervades our political system, not to mention everyday human
interaction. See the work of Professor Anant Rambachan for more about the exchange
between different religions:

 Some theists and atheists believe that if there is no God (and they usually think of the Judeo-
Christian idea of God), then right and wrong, good and evil are entirely subjective, or
relative. In Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, the Devil’s voice says to Ivan that, without
God, “everything is permitted” (Dostoevsky 1990: 643). Philosophers like J.L. Mackie,
Michael Ruse, Bertrand Russell, and Jean-Paul Sartre seem to agree. Nietzsche claims that if
there is no God, “there are no moral facts.”
(Source: https://pages.stolaf.edu/ein/disciplines/religious-ethics/)

 Some of the most important functions of religion are as follows:

Religion is a cultural universal because it fulfills several basic functions within human societies. It is a
basic requirement of group life. In sociological terms, these include both manifest and latent
functions. Among the manifest (open and stated) functions of religion are included defining the
spiritual world and giving meaning to the divine.

GEC 2108 Page 5

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

Religion provides an explanation for events that seem difficult to understand. By contrast, latent
functions or religion are unintended, covert, or hidden. Functionalists suggest that religion is a
requirement for society and individual both because it serves both manifest and latent functions

1. Religion as an Integrative Force:

 Durkheim believed that the primary function of religion was to preserve and solidify society.
It functions to reinforce the collective unity or social solidarity of a group. Sharing the same
religion or religious interpretation of the meaning of life unites people in a cohesive and
building moral order.
 The social cohesion is developed through rituals such as reciting prayer in the honour of
God, institutions of worship (church, temple, mosque, etc.), performing Namaz, and
multitudes of observances and ceremonies practised by different groups.
 The unifying rituals of different faiths are also observed by individuals on the most significant
occasions such as birth, marriage and death. This integrative function of religion was
particularly apparent in traditional, pre-industrial societies.
 Durkheim was particularly concerned with a perplexing question, ‘How can human societies
be held together when they are generally composed of individuals and social groups with
diverse interests and aspirations’. In his view, religious bonds often transcend these personal
and divisive forces. It gives people certain ultimate values and ends to hold in common.
 Although the integrative impact of religion has been emphasized here, it should be noted
that religion is not the only integrative force—the feelings of nationalism or patriotism may
also serve the same end. In contemporary industrial societies, people are also bound
together by patterns of consumption, ways of life, laws and other forces.

2. Creating a Moral Community:

 Religion provides a system of beliefs around which people may gather to belong to
something greater than themselves in order to have their personal beliefs reinforced by the
group and its rituals. Those who share a common ideology develop a collective identity and a
sense of fellowship.
 Members of moral community also share a common life. This moral community gives rise to
social community through the symbolism of the sacred that supports the more ordinary
aspects of social life. Religion then legitimizes society. It provides sacred sanction for the
social order and for its basic values and meanings.

3. Religion as Social Control:

 Frank E. Manuel (1959) had said that ‘religion was a mechanism which inspired terror, but
terror for the preservation of society’. While conservatives have valued religion for its
protective function, radicals have also often recognized that religion can be a support of the
established order, and have, consequently, been critical of religion.

GEC 2108 Page 6

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

 Friedrich Engels, a life-long close associate of Karl Marx, once noted that religion could make
the masses ‘submissive to the behests of the masters it had pleased God to place over
them’. Durkheim also emphasized that besides acting as an integrating force, religion also
reinforces social control in oppressive society.

 Religious beliefs can influence the conduct of those who believe in them. It keeps people ‘in
line’ through folkways and mores. It provides a foundation for mores of society. Religious
sanctions are sought for certain desirable patterns of behaviour to persist in society in the
forms of mores. Thus, many taboos in various cultures have religious sanctions, e.g., the
taboo against eating of pork in Jewish and Muslims and cows meat in Hindus.

4. Provides Rites of Passage:

 Religion helps us in performing ceremonies and rituals related to rites of passage (birth,
marriage, death and other momentous events) which give meaning and a social significance
to our life.

5. Religion as Emotional Support:

 Religion is a sense of comfort and solace to the individuals during times of personal and
social crises such as death of loved ones, serious injury, etc. This is especially true when
something ‘senseless’ happens. It gives them emotional support and provides consolation,
reconciliation and moral strength during trials and defeats, personal losses and unjust
treatments.

 It provides a means whereby man can face the crises and vicissitudes of life with strength
and fortitude. The concepts of karma and transmigration among Hindus and Jesus Christ as
son of God and prayer among Christians seek to provide such fortitude and strength.

 Thomas O’Dea (1970) writes, ‘Men need emotional support in the face of uncertainty,
consolation when confronted with disappointments and anxiety.’ It is often said that visiting
places of worship and holy premises serves as outlets for releasing tension and stress.

 Religion offers consolation to oppressed peoples also by giving them hope that they can
achieve salvation and eternal happiness in the afterlife. Religion increases the ‘God will
provide’ the attitude.

6. Religion Serves a Means to Provide Answers to Ultimate Questions:

 Why are we here on earth? Is there a supreme being? What happens after death? All
religions have certain notions and beliefs that provide answers to the above questions.

GEC 2108 Page 7

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

These beliefs are based on the faith that life has a purpose, and there is someone or
something that controls the universe. It defines the spiritual world and gives meaning to the
divine. Because of its beliefs concerning people’s relationships to a beyond, religion provides
an explanation for events that seem difficult to understand.

7. Religion as a Source of Identity:

 Religion gives individuals a sense of identity—a profound and positive self-identity. It
enables them to cope effectively with the many doubts and indignation of everyday life.
Religion may suggest people that they are not worthless or meaningless creatures and thus
helps them alleviating the frustrating experiences of life which sometimes force a person to
commit suicide. According to Thomas Luckman (1983), ‘The prime function of religion is to
give personal meaning to life’.

 In industrial societies, religion helps to integrate newcomers by providing a source of

identity. For example, Bangladeshi immigrants in India, after settling in their new social
environment, came to be identified as Indian Muslims. In a rapidly changing world, religious
faith often provides an important sense of belonging.

8. Legitimating Function of Religion:

 According to Max Weber (1930), religion may be used to explain, justify or rationalize the
exercise of power. It reinforces the interests of those in power. Even in societies not as
visibly ruled by religious dogma, religion legitimates the political sector.

 For example, India’s traditional caste system defined the social structure of society.
According to one theory, caste system is a creation of the priesthood (Brahmins)—the
uppermost stratum of this system, but it also served the interests of political rulers by
granting legitimacy to social inequality.

 Marx has acknowledged that religion plays an important role in legitimating the existing
social structure. The values of religion reinforce other social institutions and the social order
as a whole and as a consequence it perpetuates social inequality in society.

9. Psychologizing Religion:
 The notion of ‘positive thinking’ serves as an example of psychologizing religion. It provides
peace of mind, promises prosperity and success in life, as well as effective and happy human

GEC 2108 Page 8

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

relations. It is thus a source of security and confidence, and also of happiness and success in
this world.

 But at times religion can be debilitating and personally destructive. Persons convinced of
their own essential wickedness can suffer extreme personal difficulties. As Kingsley Davis
(1949) noted, ‘Like other medicines, it (religion) can sometimes make worse the very thing it
seeks to remedy.

 Innumerable are the psychoses and neuroses that have religious content’. But, in this role,
religion is not always harmful. Many times, it serves as a liberating and integrating force for
individuals. For instance, it helps in bringing change (sobriety) to seemingly hopeless
alcoholics.

10. Religion Acts as Psychotherapy:

 In modern world, religion has also become a supporting psychology—a form of

psychotherapy. Now, God is conceived of as a humane and considerate God. Such a hopeful
perception helps the sufferer in alleviating his/her personal and social crisis.

 A new vocation of religious practitioner has recently come up in the mental health field as a
helping professional. It already existed in village India and other places in the form of
shamans, priests and magicians (shamans are treated as super-humans endowed with
supernatural powers in some tribal societies).

11. Religion as an Agent of Social Change:

 While religion supports the status quo in its priestly function, it inspires great change in its
prophetic function. It can enable individuals to transcend social forces; to act in ways other
than those prescribed by the social order.

 Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus, Thomas More all died upholding spiritual beliefs that were not
those of the social order in which they lived. Religion, in its prophetic function, provides
individuals with an unshakable foundation of social criticism which later on becomes the
basis for social change. Many religious groups of the world protested against Vietnam and
Iraq wars and an age-old Buddha statue in Afghanistan.

 Generally, religion is regarded as an impediment in the path of social change but many
religious groups, by criticizing existing rules of social morality and social injustice, and
community or government actions, help in bringing about social change. In this regard, Max
Weber’s pioneering work on the relationship between economy and the religion.
 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1930) can be cited that how Protestant
ethic had helped in the development of spirit of capitalism in certain European nations.

GEC 2108 Page 9

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

Weber’s major theoretical point to be noted here is that ideas can change history, and in so
doing can contribute to changes in the material context of life.

 Despite establishing relationship between religious ethic and economy, Weber argued that
the effects of religion on society are unpredictable and varied. Sometimes it might have
conservative effect, whereas in other cases it might contribute to social change. Thus,
Buddhism militated against the development of capitalism in China, whereas in Northern
Europe, Calvinism had the opposite effect.

 Contrary to Weber, Marx has put forth a quite opposite thesis. He opined that religion
impedes social change by encouraging oppressed people to focus on other worldly concerns
rather than on their immediate poverty or exploitation. He said, ‘Religion is the sigh of the
oppressed creature, the feelings of heartless world …. It is the opiate of the people.’
Whereas Marx had seen religion as a consequence of the economy, Weber believed that
religion helped to shape a new economic system.

 It should be noted that many religious leaders have acted in the forefront of many social and
political movements. For example, Martin Luther King fought for civil rights of Blacks in
America. Swami Dayanand worked aggressively for women education and widow remarriage
in India.

12. Religion as an Agent of De-politicization:

 According to Bryan Wilson (1976), religion functions as an agent of de-politicization. Marxists
suggest that by inducing a ‘false consciousness’ among the disadvantaged, religion lessens
the possibility of collective political action. In simpler terms, religion keeps people away from
seeing their lives and societal conditions in political terms.

13. Religion Controls Sexuality:

 According to B. Turner (1992), ‘religion has the function of controlling the sexuality of the
body, in order to secure the regular transmission of property via the family’. In feudalism,
and now in capitalism, religious control of sexuality is an important vehicle for the
production of legitimate offspring.

 In the end, it may be said that in spite of being regarded as superstition, religion is persisting
for such a long time as a social institution because of its varied functions cited above that it
performs for the welfare of the individual and the society both.

GEC 2108 Page 10

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

 At many times, even the so-called educated people regard religious laws as superior to the
man-made laws. In primitive and traditional societies and even some sections of modern
societies, despite all-round attack over it, religion is a pervasive matter, and religious beliefs
and rites play an important part in the activities of various kinds of groups—from family to
occupational groups. Though inhabitants and citizens of a ‘modern’ society, many remain
traditional in their religious and moral outlook. For some, this means that religious authority
and principles override that of secular law.

(Source: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/religious-institutions/religion-3-
most-important-functions-of-religion/31380)

Key Points
 Ethics is concerned with what is good and moral based on reason. This is what religion is also
concerned about, what is moral based on God's revelation. So religion is not contrary to ethics.
Religion is in support of ethics.

 To an Asian author Sim Kwang Yang, the question is, "Is ethics possible without religion?. If the
question is one on a matter of fact, his answer is a resounding "yes." According to him, two great
philosophers, mely Socrates and Confucius "expounded their ethics without recourse ny supernatural
being." Likewise, Yang cites two modem period philosophers, the utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham and

GEC 2108 Page 11

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

John Stuart Mill, who also dealt with their ethical theories without appealing to the existence of God.

 A longstanding debate has been whether ethics plays a role in religion. Most religions have an ethical
component. Ethics, which is a major branch of philosophy, encompasses right conduct and good life. It
is significantly broader than the common conception of analyzing right and wrong. Ethics deals with
ideas such as Right, Good and Duty and these concepts were discussed in ancient Greece by Plato and
Aristotle in the 3rd & 4th Century BCE.
 A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfying, which is
held by many philosophers to be more important than traditional moral codes. The ancient Greeks
called it eudaimonia or happiness. The ancient Greeks believed happiness was brought about by living
one’s life in accordance with virtue – positive traits of character. Virtue in the highest sense, in an adult
who has been brought up well, will not just involve good personal habits such as courage and
temperance, but also friendship and justice and intellectual virtue. The essence of virtue is in the
wholeness of the person brought about by integrity.

Ethics and Religion

 Both ethics and religion are concerned with the most fundamental questions of human existence.
Religion draws answers to what is moral and ethical from revelation as written in Scriptures and as
"lived by their prophets and Jesus Christ (for Christians). Ethics gets its answers to what is moral and
ethical from reason and experience. It doesn't mean that theists don't use reason when they
determine what is right and In fact, even those for whom morality is religiously based may want to
examine their views based on reason. They may want to examine various interpretations of their
religious principles for internal consistency or coherence." (MacKinnon, B., et al, 2015)

 Some of the most important functions of religion are as follows:
 Religion is a cultural universal because it fulfills several basic functions within human societies. It is a
basic requirement of group life. In sociological terms, these include both manifest and latent functions.
Among the manifest (open and stated) functions of religion are included defining the spiritual world
and giving meaning to the divine.
1. Religion as an Integrative Force:
 Durkheim believed that the primary function of religion was to preserve and solidify society. It
functions to reinforce the collective unity or social solidarity of a group. Sharing the same religion or
religious interpretation of the meaning of life unites people in a cohesive and building moral order.
2. Creating a Moral Community:
 Religion provides a system of beliefs around which people may gather to belong to something greater
than themselves in order to have their personal beliefs reinforced by the group and its rituals. Those
who share a common ideology develop a collective identity and a sense of fellowship.

3. Religion as Social Control:
 Frank E. Manuel (1959) had said that ‘religion was a mechanism which inspired terror, but terror for
the preservation of society’. While conservatives have valued religion for its protective function,
radicals have also often recognized that religion can be a support of the established order, and have,
consequently, been critical of religion.
4. Provides Rites of Passage:
 Religion helps us in performing ceremonies and rituals related to rites of passage (birth, marriage,

GEC 2108 Page 12

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

death and other momentous events) which give meaning and a social significance to our life.

5. Religion as Emotional Support:

 Religion is a sense of comfort and solace to the individuals during times of personal and social crises
such as death of loved ones, serious injury, etc. This is especially true when something ‘senseless’
happens. It gives them emotional support and provides consolation, reconciliation and moral strength
during trials and defeats, personal losses and unjust treatments.

6. Religion Serves a Means to Provide Answers to Ultimate Questions:

 Why are we here on earth? Is there a supreme being? What happens after death? All religions have
certain notions and beliefs that provide answers to the above questions. These beliefs are based on the
faith that life has a purpose, and there is someone or something that controls the universe. It defines
the spiritual world and gives meaning to the divine. Because of its beliefs concerning people’s
relationships to a beyond, religion provides an explanation for events that seem difficult to
understand.

7. Religion as a Source of Identity:

 Religion gives individuals a sense of identity—a profound and positive self-identity. It enables them to
cope effectively with the many doubts and indignation of everyday life. Religion may suggest people
that they are not worthless or meaningless creatures and thus helps them alleviating the frustrating
experiences of life which sometimes force a person to commit suicide. According to Thomas Luckman
(1983), ‘The prime function of religion is to give personal meaning to life’.
8. Legitimating Function of Religion:
 According to Max Weber (1930), religion may be used to explain, justify or rationalize the exercise of
power. It reinforces the interests of those in power. Even in societies not as visibly ruled by religious
dogma, religion legitimates the political sector.

9. Psychologizing Religion:
 The notion of ‘positive thinking’ serves as an example of psychologizing religion. It provides peace of
mind, promises prosperity and success in life, as well as effective and happy human relations. It is thus
a source of security and confidence, and also of happiness and success in this world.

10. Religion Acts as Psychotherapy:

 In modern world, religion has also become a supporting psychology—a form of psychotherapy. Now,
God is conceived of as a humane and considerate God. Such a hopeful perception helps the sufferer in
alleviating his/her personal and social crisis.

11. Religion as an Agent of Social Change:

 While religion supports the status quo in its priestly function, it inspires great change in its prophetic
function. It can enable individuals to transcend social forces; to act in ways other than those prescribed
by the social order.
12. Religion as an Agent of De-politicization:
 According to Bryan Wilson (1976), religion functions as an agent of de-politicization. Marxists suggest
that by inducing a ‘false consciousness’ among the disadvantaged, religion lessens the possibility of
collective political action. In simpler terms, religion keeps people away from seeing their lives and
societal conditions in political terms.

GEC 2108 Page 13

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

13. Religion Controls Sexuality:

 According to B. Turner (1992), ‘religion has the function of controlling the sexuality of the body, in
order to secure the regular transmission of property via the family’. In feudalism, and now in
capitalism, religious control of sexuality is an important vehicle for the production of legitimate
offspring.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: ONLINE ASSIGNMENT

Name: ______________________________________________ Score: ____________

Section: _____________________________________________ Date: _____________

Essay: Answer the following question.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

1. How does an ethic differ from religion?

GEC 2108 Page 14

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

2. What is the role of religion in ethics? Explain.

REFLECTION

Does your faith in God strengthen you to be moral and ethical? Reflect on instances when
these happened.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: ONLINE QUIZ

SUMMARY

 Ethics determines what is good and bad, moral and immoral through thelight of reason.
 Religion determines what is moral and immoral based on revelation. It is not true that theists don't use
reason when they determine what is right and wrong. In fact, theists may want to examine their views
of revelation based on reason.
 Religion is in support of ethics not contrary to ethics
 Most religions have an ethical component. Ethics,
 A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfying, which is
held by many philosophers to be more important than traditional moral codes.
 The ancient Greeks called it eudaimonia or happiness. The ancient Greeks believed happiness was

GEC 2108 Page 15

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

brought about by living one’s life in accordance with virtue – positive traits of character.
 Both ethics and religion are concerned with the most fundamental questions of human existence.
Religion draws answers to what is moral and ethical from revelation as written in Scriptures and as
"lived by their prophets and Jesus Christ (for Christians). Ethics gets its answers to what is moral and
ethical from reason and experience.
 Religion is a cultural universal because it fulfills several basic functions within human societies. It is a
basic requirement of group life.
 Religion provides an explanation for events that seem difficult to understand. By contrast, latent
functions or religion are unintended, covert, or hidden.
 Some of the most important functions of religion are as follows:
1. Religion as an Integrative Force 2. Creating a Moral Community 3. Religion as Social Control 4.
Provides Rites of Passage 5. Religion as Emotional Support 6. Religion Serves a Means to Provide
Answers to Ultimate Questions 7. Religion as a Source of Identity 8. Legitimating Function of Religion 9.
Psychologizing Religion 10. Religion Acts as Psychotherapy 11. Religion as an Agent of Social Change 12.
Religion as an Agent of De-politicization 13. Religion Controls Sexuality.

References:

Call number/e-provider Materials (textbooks, references, journals, online)

ISBN 978-621-8035-66-9 Ruben A. Corpuz @ Brenda B. Corpuz. (2020).
ETHICS. LORIMAR PUBLISHING INC. 10-B
Boston Street, Bgy. Kaunlaran, Cubao, Quezon

GEC 2108 Page 16

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

City Metro Manila, Philippines.

Ruben A. Corpuz @ Brenda B. Corpuz. (2020).

ETHICS. LORIMAR PUBLISHING INC. 10-B
ISBN 971-42-0583-2 Boston Street, Bgy. Kaunlaran, Cubao, Quezon
City Metro Manila, Philippines.

https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/
society-and-culture/culture/a/cultural-relativism-
article

(Source:http://cms.gcg11.ac.in/attachments/article/
182/Nature%20of%20Ethics.pdf)

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/
10.1080/0951508021000042030

https://www.slideshare.net/smagg01/ethical-
theories-46047004

GEC 2108 Page 17

ETHICS
Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Basa Air Base Campus, Floridablanca, Pampanga

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ETHICS