ethics and religion

Right behavior in the light of religion. The word "ethics" means standards or norms of behavior expected by a society and justifi ed by religion or philosophy in such matters as right and wrong, honesty, the legitimacy of certain practices (as in "medical ethics" or "business ethics"), and, in "social ethics," in respect to what a society as a whole should do about issues like poverty or whether war is ever justifi ed. The line between ethics and a related term, morality, is fuzzy. But today "ethics" is usually taken to refer to the philosophical and religious study of right behavior, to the ideals of society, of certain professions, and of individuals in a public context, while "morals" refers more to a personal code of conduct. Any thoughtful ethical system begins with a view of the universe as a whole within which the ethics make sense. One could hold that ethics begins with the will of GOD, with "natural law" or the way the universe works, or an assessment of what the results of an action would be, or even with purely individual choice. Ethical views are divided by philosophers into two types. Deontological ethics are "oughts," coming from something that is considered prior or given: the will of God, the laws of nature. Teleological or consequentialist ethics are determined on the basis of the consequences or results of an action and whether it is good or bad in the eyes of the person making the decision. A deontologist might say, for example, that killing is always wrong because God has forbidden it, and therefore capital punishment or any killing in war is always sinful. Another of the same camp might say it is right if it is a matter of meting out true justice, since establishing justice is always God's will too. A consequentialist might respond that it depends on how much good the capital punishment would do, or whether the war is a "just war" and how much benefi t winning it would bring. Many religious people would also say that the real will of God is love or compassion, not simple "do's and don't's," and that different circumstances may call for different ways of exercising love or caring about the real good of others, and they may range from indulgence to fi rmness when people need fi rmness. Another issue is intention: Do we judge ethics by the good intentions of parties, or only by consequences? Thinking about ethics is an important part of religion. Ethics are where the ideals of a religion intersect with the crucial problems of society and of everyone's everyday life. Many ethical issues today, such as abortion, war, public honesty, "mercy killing," and others, are not easy to debate. But religions must deal with them or risk being irrelevant.