Application and Subjectivity of Divine Command Theory and the Possibility of Morality without Organized Religion

Jonathan Kathenge
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International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 2023, vol. 7, issue 7, 1250-1260

Abstract: In the society, peace and tran quillity is pegged on members adherence to a code of conduct which they presume to contain ethical directives. As such, anyone who adheres to this code is considered moral and those who violate it are deemed immoral. In some societies, especially in the African continent, adherence to religious tenets is considered a necessary and sufficient condition for morality. In this respect, a moral person is one who adheres to what their religion teaches. This perspective can be associated with one of the prominent African Philosopher and theologian John Mbiti who is credited with the proclamation that Africans are notoriously religious, that they associate everything in their lives with religion. If good things happen to an African, it is assumed that it is a reward from a deity, and if evil befalls them, it must be a punishment for an evil committed. In this paper, an investigation to the nature of organized religion and its contribution to formation of moral principles is discussed. The study sought to examine whether the religious ethical principles and the divine command theory from which they emanate are absolute and can be objectively used in our societies. The divine command theorist would argue that an act is moral because God or Deity commands it to be morally good. The question arises whether there can be morality in the absence of organized religion. The study postulates that there is possibility of human knowledge of moral principles independent of external influence which inform human conduct if organized religion would cease to exist.

Date: 2023
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