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What Does God Require? Understanding Religious Context and Morality

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Handbook of the Sociology of Morality

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

Morality is not the sole domain of religion as virtually all institutions and associations have codes of ethics or moral boundaries that distinguish right from wrong. This chapter reviews research that identifies the distinctive contributions of religion with relation to moral beliefs and behaviors. We begin by briefly reviewing why religion is unique. Why does it hold a distinctive relationship with morality and what drives this relationship? Next we turn to the relationship between morality and religion. We will briefly explore how personal religiosity relates to attitudes about moral issues and related behaviors, referencing a growing body of research has found that religious networks and religious context strongly influence when individuals will act on personal religious beliefs. We continue this line of thought by pulling back our focus to the level of nations. Building on the theory and data reviewed in the first two sections, and moving beyond the cultural context of local networks, we outline a research agenda for understanding morality and religion using cross-national research. Finally, we will end with some general statements that summarize the current understanding of the relationship between religion and morality.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This is most apparent in societies where there is a close link between church and state, such as some predominantly Islamic nations. But even in societies with a separation of church and state, the state is often justified as receiving authority from a god. The heated debate over removing “under God” from the U.S.A. pledge of allegiance offers one example.

  2. 2.

    After reviewing existing research on the relationship between religion and crime, Johnson and colleagues (2000:46) concluded, “[r]eligion is a large part of many people’s lives, but it is not a large part of criminological research.”

  3. 3.

    For a more detailed discussion on the importance of including both structural and cultural influences, see Rubinstein (2001) and Friedland (2001).

  4. 4.

    Recent work by Moore and Vanneman (2003) illustrates the importance of religious context for shaping gender attitudes.

  5. 5.

    Moreover, religious groups are not the only ones to isolate themselves and to shun the demands of the larger culture. Groups can be isolated due to their physical location (e.g. remote rural areas or shunned urban areas) or their social location (e.g. age, social class, etc.) and many groups create a subculture in an effort to avoid the influence of the larger culture. For example, universities often become an isolated domain with its own cultural demands and recent immigrants create their own subcultures and communities to support elements of their homeland culture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA

    Christopher D. Bader

  2. Department of Sociology & Crime, Law & Justice, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Roger Finke

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  1. Christopher D. Bader
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  2. Roger Finke
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Correspondence to Christopher D. Bader .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Sociology, University of Iowa, Seashore Hall W. 124, Iowa City, 52242-1401, Iowa, USA

    Steven Hitlin

  2. , Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, Barrows Hall #1980 410, Berkeley, 94720, USA

    Stephen Vaisey

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Bader, C.D., Finke, R. (2010). What Does God Require? Understanding Religious Context and Morality. In: Hitlin, S., Vaisey, S. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Morality. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6896-8_13

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