TIMD-Philosophy 2

The Role of Religion
in Moral Education

© 2002 International Educational Foundation
IEF is responsible for the content of this presentation only
if it has not been altered from the original.

© IEF 1

The Age of Technology Provides a Wealth
of Information but Little Sense of Orientation

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Partners in Education
Home

School

Community

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Dilemma of Modern Democracy
 Dependent on a basic
consensus on values
 For the state to prescribe
values threatens its
ideological neutrality

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St Augustine,
Bishop of Hippo
 Indwelling capacity of
the pupil to learn with
encouragement
and love
 Moral reasoning based
on internal dynamics,
introspection and
induction
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Thomas Aquinas
 Emphasized
reason and
intellect
 Knowing the good
precedes doing
the good

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Martin Luther,
Religious Reformer
 Insisted that
classical learning
be used to foster
moral character
and spiritual growth

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Jean Jacques
Rousseau
 Represented a new
approach to education
that emphasized
experience over
formal instruction
 Proposed “natural
education” to allow
the spontaneous
development of
the child
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To know that what is impenetrable
to us really exists, manifesting itself
as the highest wisdom… this knowledge,
this feeling is at the center of true
religiousness. In this sense, I belong in
the ranks of the devoutly religious men.
Albert Einstein
Physicist
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Religion…can conjure up moods of
sublime exaltation, and also images
of dread and terror
Elizabeth Nottingham
professor

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Not to do any evil, to cultivate good,
to purify one’s mind—this is the
teaching of the Buddhas.
Buddhism
Dhammapada 183

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“Membership in religious institutions,
and particularly frequency of attendance
at religious services, is a strong predictor
of giving and volunteering.”
Virginia A. Hodgkinson
Key Factors Influences Caring,
Involvement and Community
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The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love. The Lord is good to
all, and his compassion is over all
he has made.
Psalm 145.89

Judaism and Christianity

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Relationship with a Loving God:
 Creates order out of chaos
 Provides a model for
moral development
 Provides a moral authority
 Can provide strength
in adversity
 Can be a source of
unconditional love
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I understood how a man who has
nothing left in the world may know
bliss, be it only for a brief moment,
in the contemplation of his beloved.
Victor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning

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These families said that they had an
awareness of God or a higher power
that gave them a sense of purpose and
gave their family a sense of support
and strength.
Nicholas Stinnett

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Ritual moments are thus a pedagogy
in ethics. They embody and reflect the
key elements of the moral point of view,
and they impart the information and skills
needed for its successful application.
Ronald Green
Professor of Religion
Dartmouth College
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Potential Significance of a
Belief in the Afterlife
 Can enhance moral development
 Provides motivation to check
one’s actions
 Less attachment to body and
material things
 Establishes priority on loving
relationships and service
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I believe that religious dialogue is a
supremely ethical enterprise.
The objective of such dialogue is not only
to learn the facts about other people but
also to clear the world community of
prejudice and misunderstanding and to
establish human fellowship.
Muzammil Siddiqi
Islamic scholar

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TIMD-Philosophy 2

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