2011-01-24, 06:44 PM
Philosophically all moral behavior has a tie into some form of social conformity which was possibly derived from a religious base whatever it may be. You can trace many core social norms even as far back as Sumeria (Mesopotamia) which had a society that had some sort of religious guidance at it's core.
I wouldn't say religion has always guided what has been accepted by society, but it has played a significant role at defining it's core roots, but only as of modern society within the last 50 years or so has society truly started to break away from what was defined by a religious pretext to what literally was acceptable to a degree, though this has been only possible as far back as the Renaissance's initial impact on society which removed the involvement of the church from some politics and some government.
But as far as the initial question: Does religion have a monopoly on morals? Which came first, a religion or a society? In terms of the roots of human civilization and the foundation of social norms it brought, we might not ever truly know. It could be a mixture of both for all we know.
I wouldn't say religion has always guided what has been accepted by society, but it has played a significant role at defining it's core roots, but only as of modern society within the last 50 years or so has society truly started to break away from what was defined by a religious pretext to what literally was acceptable to a degree, though this has been only possible as far back as the Renaissance's initial impact on society which removed the involvement of the church from some politics and some government.
But as far as the initial question: Does religion have a monopoly on morals? Which came first, a religion or a society? In terms of the roots of human civilization and the foundation of social norms it brought, we might not ever truly know. It could be a mixture of both for all we know.