John Hare, Religion and Morality
September 14, 2007 9:50 am Religion and Morality, Theories of ReligionReligion and Morality (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), 2006
From the beginning of Western thought, religion and morality have been closely intertwined. This is true whether we go back within Greek philosophy or within Christianity and Judaism. The present article will not try to step beyond these confines. The article proceeds chronologically, giving greatest length to the contemporary period. It attempts to explain the main options as they have occurred historically. The purpose of proceeding historically is to substantiate the claim that morality and religion have been inseparable until very recently, and that our moral vocabulary is still deeply infused with this history.