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