For most of us these two concepts are highly interrelated, one exists because of the other. Within this inter relation there are some who believe that religion led to morality and for some others morality was incorporated into religion. And for the minority like me both of them are separate and can exist without each other.
Maximum people who are followers of any religion believe that morality is a supernatural intervention to guide mankind. Every religion has claimed that it came from a divine source and its codes are embedded in the Ten Commandments, the Eight fold path, the five pillars of Islam or the Vedas. Each of these claims to lead to the path that guarantees a meaningful life and a happy afterlife and salvation and the only path endorsed by the god. Faithful followers just not willing to accept that the good and the bad cannot arise without God. Now let us investigate the relationship between religion and morality:-
At the dawn of civilization man were amazed by the power of nature and the obvious outcome of it was who was behind it. It was those mystical entities behind the scene that influenced every act of nature and also influencing mankind. Then man tried to find out ways to make peace with them, this led to the concept of morality- a way to make peace with nature and live in peace. Slowly these groups of people formed communities with similar views and these views then got codified in the form of religion. In present time children learn morality through instructions and that leads to a level of reverence for the originator of those moral codes.
Groups sharing similar moral code are more likely to live in cohesion and cooperate with each other. This will then automatically lead to conflict with groups not adhering to their moral and religious code. However, for example we all have cheated sometime in our life, but we stop repeating them when we believe that someone is watching us, it may be god or our dead ancestors or a spirit. This behaviour then creates a common social behaviour which leads to cohesion in society. This belief of we are being watched and will be dealt with has created a pro social behaviour.
Morality codified by religion has given us a feeling of perfection. Be believe we are the perfect creation of god and this desire for superiority has led us to believe that we are the masters of all life forms on earth and all other life forms are inferior to us. Our morality surpasses all other forms of life leading us to believe that it has a supernatural origin.
Within a religious framework the person showing more morality is considered revered and given more prestige. He is considered as more trustable. This relationship between morality and religion often leads to its misuse by taking advantage of it by showing only external examples of a moral life.
Individuals who demonstrated higher knowledge of the divine rules were treated as prophets. A person who set a higher example of morality and divineness often generated more power within the community and all had more support of the clergy and the ruler. This led to more control over the people. Morality coming out of divine intervention has more power over the masses. The one person who seems to have the power to give eternal damnation has more power to enforce rules on the masses.
What we see from the above is that religious morality can bring cohesiveness in society, give power and control and prestige and also give domination over all other forms of life. Is religious morality the only truth or is it that both have the ability to shine independent of each other.
Organized religion has two parts- one that deals with ways and rituals to attain god realization and two, an ideal way to lead a life, in other terms a moral life . In our daily life most of us try to follow the second one. This first one is for those who are religiously inclined. For pursuing the first one the second one is mandatory. But for those who follow the second one, the first one is optional. I can give lip service to my religious life and still lead a moral life, but I cannot give lip service to my moral life and lead a religious life. A moral living has a higher stature than a religious living. But if it so happens, then all religion will crumble.
Now the point comes which one came first – religion or morality. Any organized religion as we see today needs an organized society to survive and flourish. Humans were living thousands of years before any organized religion and various tribes co existed and flourished and also fought with each other. It is hard to believe that they did not have a concept of good and bad. The nature of behavior hasn’t changed even after organized religion came. Have we changed our behavior on the basis of few carved scriptures on stone? Religion may have codified the tenets of morality but it cannot be claimed that it is the origin of morality.
It can be said that religion used morality and not morality used religion to further its cause. Morality doesn’t require an organized society and it can be a standalone pillar on its own without any religious backup. But if we deduct morality from religion then the whole purpose of religion will falter. Morality is the raw material that binds the fabric of like minded religious people. Without that binding it is but obvious that religion as we see today will be in tatters.
The moral codes in each religion is similar but still though it can bring cohesiveness within the group, it will always fail to bring intergroup cohesiveness. However if we look at the moral code without the adulteration of religion, it has the potential to bind the whole mankind.
Thank you Telesfor sir