Ethics and Religion

This book develops strong versions of divine command theory and natural law and defends the importance of God to morality.

Ethics and Religion deals with philosophical issues linking these two areas. It develops plausible forms of divine command theory and natural law, and defends belief in God and linking God to morality. The book is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students (including seminarians), teachers, and experts in the field.Many people question whether God is the source of morality. Under divine command theory, God's will creates the moral order, and therefore ethical truths are true because of God's will. Under natural law, on the other hand, some ethical truths do not depend on God's will, and yet perhaps they depend on his reason or creation. Ethics and Religion develops strong, defensible, and original versions of both divine command theory and natural law. The book also discusses ethics and atheism: how atheists object on ethical grounds to belief in God and how they view ethics. The book defends belief in God from criticisms and analyzes related concepts, such as practical reason, the golden rule, ethics and evolution, the problem of evil, and the fine-tuning argument.