Religion and conscience
To understand the religious
interpretations of conscience
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RELIGION AND CONSCIENCE
 Conscience plays a part in many bible stories. There are accounts of how
sinful acts left the sinner with a profound sense of sin in the heart. (2
Samuel 24:10)
 Conscience does not always point in the right direction. Bible literature
discusses the existence of both good and evil inclinations.
 St Paul in the new testament mentions conscience many times.
 He describes it as an awareness of what is good and bad and observes
that it can be weak and mistaken. (Corinthians 8:10-12)
 St Jerome (c340-420) saw conscience as the ability to distinguish
between good and bad.
 St Augustine considered conscience to be a tool for observing the law of
God within human hears. “men see the moral rules written in the book
of light which is called truth.”
 Conscience is the “voice of God” speaking to us and if we follow it we
become closer to God.
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RELIGION AND CONSCIENCE
 Aquinas
 Conscience is a system by which we make moral decisions. It is
a faculty that we use which deters people from evil.
 This is called the “Synderesis rule” this faculty has been given
to us by God to help us decide what to do.
 We sometimes make a mistake about what we are supposed
to do. People do wrong if they pursue an apparent good and
not a real good.
 “If a mistaken reason bids a man to sleep with another mans
wife to do this evil will be based on ignorance of law he should
know. If he thinks the woman is his wife then his will is free
from fault.”
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RELIGION AND CONSCIENCE
 Butler say conscience as the final decision maker
 “There is a principle of reflection in men by which they distinguish between
approval and disapproval of their own actions...this principle in man...is
conscience.”
 Butler believed Humans were influenced by two basic principles. Self-love
and benevolence. (love of others)
 Conscience directs us towards loving others and away from ourselves.
 Like Aquinas Butler held that conscience could both determine and judge the
rightness/wrongness of an action.
 But conscience comes into play in situations without any introspection and
has the ultimate authority in ethical judgements.
 “Had it strength as it has right; had it power as it had manifest authority, it
would absolutely govern the world.”
 Conscience according to Butler is ALWAYS RIGHT and you should always
follow it.
 It was given to you by God and MUST be obeyed unquestionably.
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RELIGION AND CONSCIENCE
 Because of this the catholic Church tends
to follow the lead of Aquinas giving weight
to conscience but allowing the possibility
of error.
 Conscience is a deep sense of right and
wrong from God and can never motivate
you to do something morally wrong.
 Conscience directs a person to error
through ignorance and it should therefore
be informed with the correct education.
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Conscience as a moral
guide
To understand the arguments for and
against conscience as a FREE moral guide
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CONSCIENCE AS A MORAL GUIDE
 St Paul believed that conscience was within the “centre of the soul”.
 “They can demonstrate the effects of the law engraved on their hearts to which
their own conscience bears witness.” (Romans 2:15)
 John Henry Newman took a more intuitionist approach to conscience. Newman
believed that to follow conscience is to follow a divine law as it is a messenger
from God.
 “I toast the pope but I toast conscience first.” famous quote.
 Catholic teaching on conscience is that obedience to conscience sustains human
dignity and human beings are judged for it.
 Today Catholics are encouraged to inform their consciences before acting on
them. The Vatican council has said:
 “All are bound to follow their conscience in every sphere of activity so that they
may come from God, who is their last end. Therefore, the individual must not be
forced to act against conscience nor be prevented from acting in according to
conscience, especially in religious matters.”
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CONCLUSION ON CONSCIENCE
 Conscience is a moral guide which enables people to
make moral decisions.
 It is thought to be divine law.
 Conscience can be wrong if it is informed with
ignorance.
 You choose to follow it. This makes your action free
and you responsible if you choose in error or have
misinformed your conscience.
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BUT DOES IT COME FROM GOD?
 Freud believed at its most fundamental the human
psyche was inspired by powerful instinctive desires
that had to be satisfied.
 However, children learn quickly that the world
restricts the degree to which these desires re
satisfied.
 Humans create an ego which takes account of the
realities of the world and society.
 A superego internalizes and reflects anger and
disapproval of others. A guilt conscience is created
which grows into a life and power of its own
irrespective of rational thought and reflection of the
individual.
 This conscience is pre-rational.
 Conscience then becomes a force to curtail our
behaviour and limit our freedom.
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BUT DOES IT COME FROM GOD?
 Freud’s theory has been expanded by recent psychologists who
suggest mature and immature conscience.
 The mature conscience can be identified with the egos
reflections about achieving integrity.
 It can be characterised as something that is concerned with
what is right and wrong.
 The mature conscience is dynamic, responsive and focused on
the future.
 The immature conscience (super-ego) can be identified with the
mass of feelings of guilt that have been put there at an early
pre-rational state.
 It may inspire selfish actions
 These consciences may conflict. The mature conscience is the
expression of an individual search for self-fulfilment.
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CONCLUSIONS
• Conscience is the product of our
environment.
• Our actions are limited by our conscience.
• Our actions are therefore limited.
• This argument could even be extended to
complete determinism. OUR ACTIONS ARE
NOT FREE.
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CONSCIENCE
• Conclusions on conscience show how
people have used it to justify Free will.
• Our experience of our conscience is us
experiencing our causal past.
• However acting on that conscience is the
free act we take.
• However you define conscience it can be
understood as the physical part of our mind
– the determined part of the brain which
we choose to act on.
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HOMEWORK - ESSAY
• What is conscience?
• Explain libertarian and deterministic use/views.
• Explain
• 30 marks
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