February 13, 2005
"Is Religion the Basis of Morality?"
by David Keller
    Director, Center for the Study of Ethics
    Associate Professor of Philosophy
    Chair, Institutional Review Board
    Utah Valley State College

David R. Keller is Director of the Center for the Study of Ethics and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Utah Valley State College.  His first book, The Philosophy of Ecology, explores the philosophical issues implicit in the science of ecology.  He has contributed to The International Global Studies Encyclopedia, Classics of Philosophy: The Twentieth Century, and Terra Nova Books’ Writing on Air.  He also has been published in BioScience, Humanitas, Teaching Ethics, Environmental Ethics, Interdisciplinary Humanities, Ethics and the Environment, Encyclia, Journal of the Utah Academy, and Ecosystem Health.

He has served as Acting Interim Dean from January through May 2002.  He was named Assistant Vice President for Scholarship and Outreach in January 2003, and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs in August 2003.  For more information about David Keller go to www.uvsc.edu/admin/academics/kellerda.

 

“It is widely assumed that without religion, there would be no morality.  In this presentation I argued that, while there might be a connection between ethics and religion, the connection is not necessary.  In fact, it is entirely possible—even desirable—to have ethics without religion.” - David Keller

 

Speaker-Suggested Reading
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, section 125.
Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, Book V, Chapter 5, “The Grand Inquisitor.”

Dictionary.com provides commonly accepted definitions of these two terms:

It defines morality as:

1. The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct.
2. A system of ideas of right and wrong conduct: religious morality; Christian morality.
3. Virtuous conduct.
4. A rule or lesson in moral conduct.

It defines religion as:

1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
3. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
4. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
5. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

        Some links for additional information on this subject:
            The Connection between Religion and Morality - The Christian Courier
            The Euthyphro Dilemma by FaithNet
            The Unique Source of Religion and Morality from Anthropoetics by Eric Gans
            Religion and Morality, an Essay by Arthur C. Clarke
            Morality As A Religion by Mahatma Gandhi
            Revealed Religion and Morality by Thomas Paine

David Keller's website is here.