CH. 5 PHI300
Identify an example of the divine command theory.
A mother drowning her children to protect them from satan
Robert Bellah defines______ ______ as an institutionalized set of beliefs, symbols, and rituals that provide a religious dimension to a nation's collective life.
Civil Religion
Identify the results of civil religion identifying national interests with God's plan for humanity.
Dissent is oppressed in the name of patriotic duty. Civil religion becomes supplanted by cultural relativism.
_____ people join churches because of the secular benefits, such as social status.
Extrinsically religious
True or false: The teachings of the scriptures in Western religion only affirm human dignity.
False
True or false: The worship of national interests leads to an understanding of a nation's purpose in light of a higher, transcendent reality.
False
The belief that _____ gives morality its authority.
God is the creator of moral law
According to the divine command theory, anything is permissible as long as _____.
God wills or commands it
_____ people join churches because faith is meaningful to them as an end in itself.
Intrinsically religious
Identify a true statement about divine command theory.
It provides no objective criteria for determining which claim to accept if two particular groups or individuals present conflicting claims based on divine commands.
_____ maintains that morality is based on universal, unchanging principles.
Natural law theory
_____ is an inner attitude of reverence or deep respect for the ultimate moral worth or sacredness of oneself and others.
Spirituality
is independent of a belief in a transcendent God or any particular religious or cultural doctrine.
Spirituality
In the context of the dangers of civil religion, which of the following are the results of sacralizing cultural norms and values in a nation? (Check all that apply.)
The nation becomes the object of worship. Moral criticism is oppressed in the name of patriotic duty.
_____ has been used to legitimate discrimination against women.
Theology
The _____ outlines America's special status and mission as a chosen nation.
U.S. Constitution
Divine command theory has been based on the assumption of the existence of _____.
a just, loving, and infallible personal God
James Cone asks for _____ by calling for a reevaluation of traditional Christian values.
a recognition of common humanity
Theologian John Hick states that the problem of evil disappears into _____.
a vale of soul making
The Native American's concept of moral community has led to _____ between them and the European Christians who settled in America— particularly around the concept of private ownership of land.
antagonism and conflict
According to the teachings of the scriptures in Western religion, humans have the highest moral value because humans _____.
are created in the image of God
According to the American civil religion, the ultimate moral obligation of America and its citizens is to _____.
carry out God's will on earth
Robert Bellah suggests that the primary role of _____ is the creation of a sense of cultural or national identity and purpose.
civil religion
The creative tension between civil religion and cultural relativism is lost when a nation _____.
comes to regard itself as the higher power
Intrinsically religious people are more autonomous and _____.
committed at the moral level
Much of the contemporary Native American religion is a(n) _____ against the traditional Judeo-Christian depiction of the moral community.
countercultural movement
Civil religion mutates into divine command theory during _____, when people are unsure of how to react and a powerful national leader claims to have knowledge of God's divine plan for the world.
crises
With reference to Emile Durkheim, God becomes a symbol of _____ because each society creates God in its own image.
cultural unity
According to Karl Marx, religion is a _____.
destructive force
The founders of America sought to _____ and incorporate them into the nation's thinking.
discern natural laws
Civil religion is at a risk for abdicating to _____.
divine command theory
The _____ claims that something is holy or moral because God loves it.
divine command theory
The actions of groups such as the 9/11 terrorists are examples of _____.
divine command theory
The two different theories regarding the relationship between morality and religion are _____ and _____.
divine command theory; natural law theory
American civil religion provides the nation with a set of moral principles as well as a(n) _____ for the rest of the world.
divine purpose to act as a beacon of liberty and freedom
According to civil religion, _____ awaits those who fail to heed religion's moral commands.
eternal damnation
Those who are obedient to their religion's moral code can look forward to _____.
eternal salvation
Divine command theory is a type of _____.
ethical relativism
Most philosophers and theologians agree that morality _____.
exists independently of religion
Within certain Christian denominations, God is worshipped because God represents perfect goodness. By imitating God, believers _____.
express their morality
True or false: In the context of the relationship between morality and religion, when people who are religious use the terms right and wrong, they mean the different thing as someone who is not religious.
false
True or false: The existence of a just, loving, and infallible personal God has been proven by divine command theorists.
false
True or false: When there is disagreement between universal commands, divine command theory is used to resolve the dispute or to decide if God actually issued one or both of the conflicting commands.
false
American civil religion expresses itself in symbols such as the American _____.
flag
In divine command theory, God's commands are meant _____.
for a particular person or group of people at a particular time
In many Native American philosophies, land cannot be owned or sold because the earth _____.
has intrinsic moral values
Religious ethics that demand uncritical acceptance of official doctrines promote _____.
heteronomous moral reasoning
When a nation comes to regard itself as the higher power, Robert Bellah terms it the _____.
idolatrous worship of the state
Morality represents what people already believe to be moral _____ of their belief in God.
independently
In contrast to the Jewish religion and other mainstream protestant religions, some Muslims, like some fundamentalist Christians, maintain that ethics is _____.
inseparable from and relative to religion
Civil religion claims that morality, at least to some extent, _____.
is relative to a particular culture or nation
There are no criteria for determining whether God actually issued a particular command because divine commands are _____.
issued to particular individuals or groups
People who have faith in God are motivated to behave in accordance with moral law even when _____. Multiple choice question.
it conflicts with human laws
In the context of morality, the study of sacred scriptures is important, in part, because _____.
it teaches right from wrong
To question God's commands or to demand independent nonreligious reasons for accepting a divine command shows _____.
lack of faith
According to Kai Nielsen, the divine command theory is _____.
logically unsound
Karl Marx argued that religious institutions exist primarily for the purpose of _____.
maintaining the status quo and legitimizing the interests of the ruling class
American civil religion is also very specific when it comes to America's _____.
mission and moral authority in the world
The assumptions of different religious traditions regarding the nature and purpose of humans in this world have a profound influence on the definition of _____.
moral community
The new democratic social order of America is identified with God's divine plan for human progression toward _____.
moral perfection
According to Kai Nielsen, individuals depend on _____ criteria to discern right from wrong.
nonreligious
Divine command theory was criticized for its arbitrariness as individuals cannot look to universal moral principles, including those contained in scriptures, since universal moral principles are _____.
overridden by a divine command
In contrast to the Native American concept of moral community, the traditional Judeo-Christian concept _____.
places humans outside and above nature
Religion can offer _____ for behaving morally.
powerful external motivations
In its truest form, civil religion acts as a(n) _____.
powerful incentive to justice
Religion has been used to support a hierarchy of moral values within humanity based on _____ and _____ of males and females.
racial difference; different natures
Relativistic theories do not allow for _____ discussion of what is the right thing to do.
rational
Theologian James Cone calls for the dissolution of current Christianity and its God and a(n) _____.
reevaluation of all values
Religious ethics tends to define moral community in _____.
relation to God
An institutionalized system of beliefs and values shared by a group and grounded in faith and the worship of a supreme transcendent being is known as _____.
religion
The term used to refer to a set of beliefs concerning nature, cause, and purpose of the universe is _____.
religion
Relativist theories contribute to a(n) _____ "either you're with us or against us" mentality. Multiple choice question.
rigid
When religious ethics become grounded on cultural relativism, religion can become a destructive force by _____ and limiting one's conception of the moral community.
sanctifying cultural customs that are unjust
The existence of a perfectly good God who is the source of all morality seems inconsistent with the presence of _____.
so much suffering and evil in the world
In a country where the law of the sacred texts is the law of the land and applies to everyone living in that country, humans are expected to _____.
submit unquestioningly to God's will
Acts such as giving away one's belongings to the poor or risking one's life in the name of a moral cause are examples of _____ actions.
supererogatory
Moe is an environmentalist. He conducts campaigns to save the forests in his city and risks his life for the same. Moe's behavior is an example of acts.
supererogatory
Morality that is beyond what is normally expected of an individual is known as
supererogatory
Samantha has immense faith in God. She gives away her own food and clothing to the poor and grabs every opportunity to serve the needy, even if it leaves her with nothing. In this scenario, the acts by Samantha are examples of actions.
supererogatory
During religious worship, people praise that which has _____.
the highest worth or value
The concept of God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is so intimately connected to the concept of moral goodness that _____.
the moral code is incorporated right into their doctrines
American civil religion is most powerful when _____.
the nation or national ideals are threatened
Civil religion has been part of American politics since _____.
the nation's inception
According to Dostoyevsky, if morality is reducible to or relative to the will of God, then without God, _____.
there can be no morality
True or false: According to the divine command theory—rape, murder, genocide, killing one's own children—is permissible as long as God wills or commands it. True false question.
true
Extrinsically religious people are heteronomous moral reasoners who _____.
uncritically accept the tenets of civil religion
According to Emile Durkeheim, religion is the _____, thereby acting as a mechanism for justifying the moral norms of a particular culture.
worship of society
