III. Can we take law, religion, and culture as absolute sources of moral authority?
Keep in mind that law, religion, and culture are not absolute sources of moral authority. They become
problematic when one takes them as absolute sources of moral authority. To a certain extent, they
could be good sources of moral authority but not absolutely. They cannot be universal grounds for our
moral knowledge because some aspects of their essentiality manifest some gaps in our understanding of
the concept of morality. They do not apply universally to every human being, to every situation, and to
every place. They appear to be relative only to certain groups of people, to some places, and to
particular situations.
In regard to religion, we are all aware of the fact that there are numerous forms of religions.
Each religion has its own set of beliefs and doctrines that differ from one another. Moreover, there are
religious beliefs and practices that do not match with certain moral norms. These things only show that
to a certain extent they could be good sources of moral authority but not absolutely.
Likewise, culture takes different forms. It varies from one place to another. This is called cultural
relativism. Cultural relativism means that the validity and acceptability of a system of beliefs depend on
what a particular group of people holds to be true. This makes moral knowledge problematic because it
makes moral knowledge relative to a particular culture. Moreover, there are cultural beliefs and
practices that do not match with certain moral norms.
Likewise, human laws or man-made laws differ from one place to another. Moreover, there are human
laws that do not match with certain moral norms. To a certain extent, human laws could be good
sources of moral authority insofar as they conform to certain moral norms, most especially to the
Natural Law of St. Thomas Aquinas. Hence, human laws cannot be absolute sources of moral authority.
Activity 2
Think of examples of situations that demonstrate that law, religion, and culture cannot be
absolute sources of moral authority. In the light of the cases that you have thought of, discuss why
holding them as absolute sources of moral authority would be problematic.
---You have to clearly describe the religious belief. You have to demonstrate why it cannot be an absolute
source of moral authority. You have to demonstrate also why Ethics is different from religion. Your essay
must be composed of 15 – 20-----
1. Religion
2. Culture
3. Law