s, take it of worth, old and young,
And forsake Pride, for he deceiveh you in the end;
And remember Beauty, Five Wits, Strength, and Discretion,
They all at the last do ever man forsake,
Save his Good Deeds there dot he take.
None excuse may be there for every man (Cawley 233).
Thus, we see that throughout history religion and morality
have been closely tied; indeed, some might say that religion
and morality are the same. But concepts of morality have
changed through the centuries as man, religion, and society
have changed. Today, in an increasingly complex technological
society the question of religion and morality has also increased in complexity.
The twentieth century has seen a variety of moral questions and problems present themselves. Few of these moral questions have been satisfactorily answered by religion or philosophy. What is the morality of war in an age where nations possess the capability, through atomic and hydrogen bombs, to destroy world and all evidence of mankind? What is the morality of the churches and nations of the world allowing the apartheid government of South Africa to maintain the domination of the white minority over some 16 million black Africans? What are the moral questions inherent in the despicable rule of Idi Amin in Uganda?
There are other questions of morality, which are closer to
home. What are the moral implications of the Watergate scandal? What are the moral questions involved in CIA assassination plots or coup plots against national leaders or their nations? What is the morality of euthanasia? What is the morality of continued racial injustice in a nation which, on the one hand, professes a deep belief in equality and liberty and the moral precepts of Christianity and, on the other hand, continues to oppose integration and civil rights? What is the morality inherent in the question of obscenity and pornography as opposed to freedom of speech and ex