Tag Archives: moral behavior

Real-World Morality

Secular Right’s readers have been raising the hoary “without God, no morality” topos again: The problem with creating a notion of “secular authority” is that you run into . . .  the “great sez who?” Eventually, without a belief in … Continue reading

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Faith and finance

The argument that the current financial crisis was at least partly caused by the retreat of religion from the public square and by rising secularism will undoubtedly recur regularly over the next few years.  These are complex matters, and those … Continue reading

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Spies Like Us?

Walter, you mention the fact that the spy Robert Hanssen was also a member of Opus Dei, and then go on to comment that “the oft-mooted prophylactic effect of religious enthusiasm against world-league personal misbehavior doesn’t seem to work very … Continue reading

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“Among the stingiest of the stingy…”

Nicholas Kristof at the Times is calling attention to those Arthur Brooks figures about how conservatives give more to charity than liberals, and religious persons give more than secular: A study by Google found an even greater disproportion: average annual … Continue reading

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Does religion make you nicer or happier?

Well, it may depend on where you live — which in turn suggests that the answer may be more complicated than many assume, if not indeterminate. Paul Bloom in Slate last month, via Will Wilkinson: Many Americans doubt the morality … Continue reading

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Religion and Morality: The Home Front

I’m curious: how often do parents in religious households back up the command: “Stop hitting your brother!” with the addendum, “which a close reading of the interaction of the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Commandments would suggest is prohibited”? Or even … Continue reading

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Dangerous Places

Further to Heather’s remarks:  the London Daily Telegraph has a photo-display titled “20 of the world’s most dangerous places.” Here are the Telegraph’s 20, with their dominant religions (according to the CIA World Factbook). I think my abbreviations are obvious, except … Continue reading

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On religion & morality

Heather’s post, Religion and Moral Behavior, allows me to make a point which I think is important.  Some conservatives who argue for the powerful utility of religion in promoting the social order ignore the confounds with other parameters, and look … Continue reading

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Religion and Moral Behavior

Jerry Muller’s excellent Public Interest article, linked by Hume, references the ubiquitous “social utility” argument for religion: “belief in ultimate reward and punishment leads men to act morally.” The disappearance of religious belief, religion advocates argue, will produce individual and … Continue reading

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