One issue I have with morality and religion is how religion often seems to view morality in terms of absolutes, while I see morality as situational.
When I take a view of morality that’s situational, people often suggest that my morality is based on whatever is conveinient at the time . . . and nothing is further from the truth.
As an example to clarify what I mean, consider the importance parents place on reminding children to shut the light when leaving a room.
Electricity costs money, and being careless about shutting lights costs money needlessly . . . so by caring about shutting lights, you are respecting your father who works very hard to provide for the family . . . and so forth.
So, shutting lights is an issue about respect, and caring for the family.
This is how I was raised.
Now here’s my point: My parents were house sitting for a family that went away on a trip, and the house was solar powered.
Yet they still got pissed at me when I was cavalier about shutting lights. It really, really bothered them when I left the lights on all over the house when it was my turn to check on everything (I did this intentionally because I believed this would deter burglars).
I tried to ask them what the difference is between leaving the lights on in a solar powered home (which is bad) and opening the curtains to let light in the room (which is fine), and they couldn’t articulate what the difference is . . . yet leaving the lights on is “immoral,” while opening the curtains and leaving them open to let in sunlight is fine.
So . . . my point is that when we take a stand on a legitimate moral issue, we tend to apply it out of context when we see it as a universal truth.
This isn’t a big deal when we’re talking about electricity and lights, but it becomes a very big deal in religion when it mixes with education and politics, and the whole world suffers for it.