How Religion Makes Men Do Moral only for the Sake of Rewards

How religion makes men do moral only for the sake of rewards.

The first reason that shows how religion demotes human morality is that it presents morality as a means to an end, rather than an end of its own right. There are many examples recognized in the Pentateuch, where "[in] a certain class of moral rules is to be found that a promise of blessing is held out" for following said rules (Spero 25). These rules are the ones that enforce positive action towards others, such as helping someone in need. The rules that forbid behaviour, such as "'Thou shalt not deceive'" (25), do not possess this quality. The issue that emerges is the need for some type of reward to encourage selfless activities. Furthermore, the Decalogue, split into two tables, can be seen as two copies of a contractual agreement (Spero 31). Thus, it displays the need of a divine covenant to make a society behave in what can be considered moral way. This undermines the ability of society to be moral for its own sake, rather than through a contract with god. Johnson raises the question whether there are good reasons to be moral when it could harm the one acting moraly (161). This is a very important question, as the existance of a god would resolve this by the fact that god would reward or punish the lack of the moral action, and thus it would be in the interest of the person in question to act moraly . However, as the writer argues, morality for the sake of society as a whole would indirectly benifit the individual(164-165). This requires that the individual is well aware of the indirect consequences and how they benefit "long-range self-interest" (165). It is also notable that "religious belief [belongs] in the realm of faith, not knowledge" (201). As a result, in the case of religious morality, it is not by the capacity of the individual or the society to reason the benefits of moral actions, but due to the belief in the possible rewards and punishments the lack thereof can attribute. Thus it is notable that contractual or beneficial morality based on religious thought does not allow for genuine moral decision and thought within contemporary societies.

...