Religion and Morality

Atheists say that you can have morality without religion and they are, of course, right. Any society that wishes to function in a way that allows most of its members to lead a reasonable life must evolve a morality of some kind or it will rapidly descend into chaos and self-destruct, and the so-called Golden Rule is the obvious way to go. Basically it means that if I respect you and your rights then you respect me and mine and we can all get along. 

That is fine as far as it goes, and it satisfies our innate sense of fairness (which comes from where, we might ask ourselves), but, at root, it is really just a pragmatic way of looking at things and says nothing about the source of a true morality which would be based on an understanding of spiritual truth on the one hand and love on the other. Humanist atheists would maintain that their morality arises from a recognition of the oneness of humanity and that is doubtless correct, but theirs is an intellectual or ideological understanding of oneness not a spiritual one. In other words, it is merely thought based not a fact of being. So it is devoid of love. But love only has any meaning in the context of a spiritual reality and the recognition that we are all individual manifestations of the One God in whom we are all united. Otherwise it is just based on what gives me pleasure.

Another point to take into account for those who consider that secular morality can act as a substitute for religion is this. The primary function of religion is not morality as such but salvation. Or, if not that, then as something which can take us beyond the limited state of body/mind restricted individuals to a more transcendent state of being which is our true self. 

From a religious perspective actions which are described as sinful, and therefore immoral, are those which put you in disharmony with God and spiritual reality. This results in a diminishment of the ability to resonate to and embody higher truths and it has karmic consequences as well in that what you sow you will reap. Sin, whether of action or thought, locks you more deeply into the lower earthly self and separates you from the higher spiritual self. It therefore affects the quality of consciousness and the depth of insight of the individual concerned. It is really a kind of self wounding.

Many spiritual people today have a moral system that doesn't differ too much from that of the materialists, the standard left/liberal model which actually originates from a denial of spiritual truth so is of dubious worth on that score alone. It is basically just an elaboration from the belief in equality, but while life may be one in essence it is very far from being all the same in expression. The oneness of life must always be seen in conjunction with an understanding of its hierarchical nature. If you don't see this and believe yourself to be a spiritual person your spiritual understanding is flawed and your morality is limited.