One could answer the question posed by saying, “It is immoral to have sex out of wedlock because God commanded us not to, and He knows all that you do; and for committing that act, He will smite you!” Or at least that reasoning would suffice the curiosity of the selfish person. They still will not understand the intrinsic harm of the action (because there is none), but their self-interest (fear of God’s wrath) will keep them from committing this ‘immoral’ act. For the less selfish person, one could ‘justify’ the immorality of the act by saying, “This act is a sin against God; it hurts him.” This type of reasoning appeals to the less-selfish person, provided that he or she has love for God. Whether you are reasoning with a selfish or un-selfish person, the use of God and Religion to ‘justify’ these issues is only pertinent when dealing with a God-fearing, moral being. A person who does not believe in God still will not see any harm in committing these ‘immoral’ acts because the religious reasoning behind them does not apply to him/her. The rational, atheistic being will see the reasons justifying the immorality of the action as irrational, whereas the rational, religious being sees those reasons as rational because they are relevant to his/her values and beliefs. Therefore Religion assists in ‘justifying’ the unjustified morals to religious people, but has no use to non-religious moral
One could answer the question posed by saying, “It is immoral to have sex out of wedlock because God commanded us not to, and He knows all that you do; and for committing that act, He will smite you!” Or at least that reasoning would suffice the curiosity of the selfish person. They still will not understand the intrinsic harm of the action (because there is none), but their self-interest (fear of God’s wrath) will keep them from committing this ‘immoral’ act. For the less selfish person, one could ‘justify’ the immorality of the act by saying, “This act is a sin against God; it hurts him.” This type of reasoning appeals to the less-selfish person, provided that he or she has love for God. Whether you are reasoning with a selfish or un-selfish person, the use of God and Religion to ‘justify’ these issues is only pertinent when dealing with a God-fearing, moral being. A person who does not believe in God still will not see any harm in committing these ‘immoral’ acts because the religious reasoning behind them does not apply to him/her. The rational, atheistic being will see the reasons justifying the immorality of the action as irrational, whereas the rational, religious being sees those reasons as rational because they are relevant to his/her values and beliefs. Therefore Religion assists in ‘justifying’ the unjustified morals to religious people, but has no use to non-religious moral