So what is the relationship between religion and morality?
For our purposes, we should break this question into two parts: (1) what is the rela- tionship between religion and ethics (the philo- sophical study of morality), and (2) what is the relationship between religion and morality (beliefs about right and wrong)? The first question asks about how religion relates to the kind of investi- gation we conduct in this book—the use of expe- rience and critical reasoning to study morality. The key point about the relationship is that whatever your views on religion and morality, an open-minded expedition into ethics is more use- ful and empowering than you may realize, espe- cially now at the beginning of your journey into moral philosophy. You may believe, for exam- ple, that God determines what is right and wrong, so there is no need to apply critical rea- soning to morality—you just need to know what God says. But this judgment—and similar dis- missals of ethics—would be premature. Consider the following:
Believers Need Moral Reasoning It is difficult—perhaps impossible—for most peo- ple to avoid using moral reasoning. Religious people are no exception. One reason is that reli- gious moral codes (such as the Ten Command-
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’ How can we hope to grapple with complex moral issues that have emerged only in recent years? Can religion alone handle the job? Consider the follow- ing case:
According to a report by CNN, Jack and Lisa Nash made history when they used genetic testing to save the life of their six-year-old daughter, Molly, by having another child. Molly had a rare genetic disorder known as Fanconi anemia, which pre- vents the generation of bone marrow and pro- duces a fatal leukemia. Molly’s best chance to live was to get a transplant of stem cells from the umbilical cord of a sibling, and Molly’s parents were determined to give her that sibling, brother Adam. Through genetic testing (and in vitro fertil- ization), Jack and Lisa were able to select a child who would not only be born without a particular disease (Fanconi anemia, in this case) but also would help a sibling combat the disease by being
the optimal tissue match for a transplant—a historic combination. As Lisa Nash said, “I was going to save Molly no matter what, and I wanted Molly to have siblings.”*
Is it right to produce a child to save the life or health of someone else? More to the point, do the scriptures of the three major Western religions provide any guidance on this question? Do any of these traditions offer useful methods for pro – ductively discussing or debating such issues with people of different faiths? How might ethics help with these challenges? Is it possible to formulate a reasonable opinion on this case without doing ethics? Why or why not?
*“Genetic Selection Gives Girl a Brother and a Second Chance,” CNN.com, 3 October 2000, http://archives.cnn .com/2000/HEALTH/10/03/testube.brother/index.html (8 Decem ber 2005).
CRITICAL THOUGHT: Ethics, Religion, and Tough Moral Issues
10 Á PART 1: FUNDAMENTALS
will talk past each other, appealing only to their own religious views. Furthermore, in a pluralistic society, most of the public discussions about important moral issues take place in a context of shared values such as justice, fairness, equality, and tolerance. Just as important, they also occur according to an unwritten understanding that (1) moral positions should be explained, (2) claims should be supported by reasons, and (3) reasoning should be judged by common rational standards. These skills, of course, are at the heart of ethics.