Religion and Ethics
Religion and Ethics Religare – “connection” (lat.) as well as ‘yoga’; Early religious beliefs: totemic, fetishism, animism, shamanism, etc. Regional religions: Hinduism, Daoism, Olympism, Zoroastrianism, Shinto, etc. World religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam.
Religion and Ethics General questions: How did the first beliefs appear? Is there an internal religious sense? G.F. Hegel’s idealistic theory; L. Feuerbach's anthropological theory; F. Engels’s /K. Marx’s materialistic theory; Z. Freud’s psychological theory; Esoteric theories
Religion and Ethics Historical importance of religions: Depends on ideology, culture, etc.; There are progressive / regressive functions: Progressive ones: Establishment of the ethical principles; Unification; Political/social enforcements of the state; Social assistance to the population; Culture; Psychological help.
Religion and Ethics Regressive ones: Dogmatic features; Differentiation of people; Fanatic attitude; Religious wars; Often contradicts to science/education; The weight of responsibility.
Religion and Ethics Diversity of religious-philosophic ideas of God: 1. By quantity: poly-theism; Monotheism; 2. By quality: theism; Deism; Pantheism; Anthropomorphism; Zoomorphism; Atheism.
Religion and Ethics Proofs and rejections of God’s existence: Th. Aquinas (logical, abstract-philosophical proofs); Creationism: some scientist are trying to use science to poof the God’s act in Universe creation; Dialectical materialism’s rejections; I. Kant: God’s being is antinomy; Esoteric beliefs.
Religion and Ethics Why do religions exist today? Definition of religion: Religion is a human contemplation, behavior, lifestyle (with rituals and traditions) defined by the belief in God, the feeling of a strong connection and dependence on God. What is a religious ethics? What is a secular ethics? When did secular ethics start?
Religion and Ethics What does religion have?: Theological basis, Cult and ritual acts; Norms; Institutions.