I find the argument that religion is required to understand and practice morality doesn't hold any water. In fact, I'd say religion makes it harder.
Religion gives you a set of rules, and usually involves some horrible cosmic punishment if you break those rules. But those rules are easy to derive without the need to invoke the supernatural. E.g.
- "What goes around comes around."
- Lying tends to produce more lying, leading to consequences for the liar
- Turning the other cheek gives you peace and endears you to others
- Charity is its own reward
- The 7 deadly sins are all eventually toxic to the individual committing them
- etc.
These would all be true even if religion never sprouted up in our world. Religion coopts basic, secular morality and claims it as its own divine truth. It's done this so effectively that people like you become confused about how non-religious people learn to be good people, and some go as far as to equate spirituality with morality.
My question to you (I'm assuming you're Christian) would be, how do you know that you shouldn't kill someone who works on Sunday? The bible explicitly says that you should (Exodus 35:2). If you know that your morality doesn't line up perfectly with the bible, then how did you arrive at it? There are prominent Christian figures you agree with, and plenty that you do disagree with. How do you decide which is which?
Religion gives you a set of rules, and usually involves some horrible cosmic punishment if you break those rules. But those rules are easy to derive without the need to invoke the supernatural. E.g.
- "What goes around comes around."
- Lying tends to produce more lying, leading to consequences for the liar
- Turning the other cheek gives you peace and endears you to others
- Charity is its own reward
- The 7 deadly sins are all eventually toxic to the individual committing them
- etc.
These would all be true even if religion never sprouted up in our world. Religion coopts basic, secular morality and claims it as its own divine truth. It's done this so effectively that people like you become confused about how non-religious people learn to be good people, and some go as far as to equate spirituality with morality.
My question to you (I'm assuming you're Christian) would be, how do you know that you shouldn't kill someone who works on Sunday? The bible explicitly says that you should (Exodus 35:2). If you know that your morality doesn't line up perfectly with the bible, then how did you arrive at it? There are prominent Christian figures you agree with, and plenty that you do disagree with. How do you decide which is which?