Excelent points, Mantus. You are suggesting that neither came from the other, but they developed hand in hand as humans developed and became social and self aware, yes? Morality, or a version of it, can be found in social animals. Watch packs of dogs or primates for proof of that. Maybe the question that addresses this thread might be if primates and more inteligent animals are able to have some basic (and I mean BASIC) understanding of some higher being, like God.
Not going back as far, morality had to have it's place in religion. If you believe in a religion, you might believe that a supreme being made us and taught us to be higher than the animals, thus giving us the roots of morality. Our social interaction and rules of our society are part of what seperates us from the animals. The morality is usualyl intertwined with the lessons from the divine being, as a gift. We are required, or asked depending on the religion, to adhear to the rules. The Ten Commandments in Judism and Christianity are a good example. Those are a very specific set of rules given to us directly from God.
On the other hand...it is also possible that religion was a tool created by teachers and philosophers to teach the rules of society to people. As people tend to want rulership and guidence from someone or something infalable, God would be an excelent answer. Man creates God to give men reasonable boundries in society.
|