Dennis+Mawson



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This wiki space exams the relation of religious laws and beliefs to actual government laws. Many religions have a set of codes and morals that people must abide by, if someone is thought to be a faithful follower of that religion. The united States, and most other countries, have similar sets of codes and morals that people must abide by, otherwise consequences will result. This raises the question of, are these laws made by the government simply how they belive we should act as citizens, religious or not, or do the laws that are made reflect religious beliefs, and if so, how do atheists feel about these laws? Do they believe they need to be followed?

This is one of the oldest and most strictly enforced laws in our society. It is in almost every religion, including Christianity, Catholicism, and Judaism. It is considered one of the greatest sins to kill someone. Though in some religions, people kill each other in the name of their god, such as Pope Urban II, and "terrorist" Islamic organizations. Even though, killing not in the name of a god if considered a sin. In American law, no matter who you kill, you will be given a trial, and prosecuted accordingly. However, it is not considered illegal to kill someone in a war, such as the current "conflict in Iraq." So one must think, has this law been made by the government because two thousand years ago it was written in stone by "God" or is this law merely to suppress chaos and maintain a level of civility required to make the world function?



This, is a quote taken directly from the Quran, the religious book in the religion of Islam. It is very similar to quotes from the Christian bible, especially, “Thou shall not steal” The only difference is that here, the quote goes into detail with punishments that should be carried out, and forgiveness. This directly mirrors laws, seeing as in the U.S. and most other countries, stealing is an offense punishable by law. In the Quran, Punishment is even asked. Now, this may be because similarities in religion exist, and when laws are made to mirror one religion, such as Christianity, they may mirror another, such as Islamic. Then again, it may just be a coincidence, a case of common knowledge and sense of culture as human beings to punish someone for taking something that isn’t theirs, to keep them from doing it again, so society can function, but isn’t that just the point of the religious laws, as well as the government laws?



This quote shows that lots of people follow along with the Ten Commandments. So, it isn’t necessarily a religious thing, at least not simply one religion, because people from all sorts of religions follow them. So, the lawmakers of countries can take them and make them into no religious laws if they so choose, and even though they closely resemble, or even are a duplicate copy of what is said in the religious text, they can be meant to be in an entirely non religious sense. On the other hand, they may be inspired by religious beliefs, creating a dilemma for people who don’t follow a religion, and making them feel forced by the law to follow a religion.

This quote, from the Latvian Constitution, shows that the church and state should be separate from the state. Meaning laws that are made, cannot be religious laws, they have to be made with the good of the country in mind, not what religious leaders think is a proper way to act. Latvia, being a vast majority Catholic and Jewish, believes, like the united states, as a similar quote was made by Thomas Jefferson, one of the main writers of the constitution, that Catholicism and Christianity, both believe that the church and state should be separate, but the laws between the church and state are very similar in some senses.

Islamic culture is far different, and far similar, to that of our western American culture. This quote, from an Islamic scholar, shows that Islam itself is the very basis of Middle Eastern countries, and though it would cause less international conflict, the Quran is what they base their thoughts and beliefs around. It literally was where their laws came from, and how they choose to run their country. So, even though western culture can be unclear at times as to where their laws come from, some nations are completely upfront that they base their nations laws around these religious thoughts.

So, in conclusion, it seems that we cant directly answer the question at hand. There are too many gray areas, too many uncertainties, with both government law and religion being so old, it basically boils down to the chicken and the egg theory. We can’t really say for sure that all laws were made to mirror religion. In some cases, it is possible that they were, but in others, they might not have been. In the end, it all comes down to perspective, the way in which you choose the world, and how you wish to live your life. You really have no choice in following the laws, be them religious or not, unless your willing to deal with the consequences from various government agencies who enforce these laws. So, its even possible they were made into laws to keep even the non-religious people in line, seeing as they weren’t going to follow them in a religion, the have to follow them in a law. So, as opposed to separation of church and state, it really becomes cooperation of church and state, how they choose to work together to maintain peace and civility, and keep the people in line, at least, the line that they design for them to be in.

Quote "Thou shall not kill"

Nelson, Thomas. "A list of the ten commandments." essortment.com. 2002. King James bible, Web. 28 Oct 2009. .

Quote "as for the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hands...kind"

Athar, Shahid. "The Ten Commandments and Confirmation in Quran ." Islam_USA.com. Shahid Athar, Web. 28 Oct 2009. .

Quote "There already exists a code of principals...Ten Commandments"

Huckabee, Mike. "Mike Huckabee on the Ten Commandments." //Does America Need the Decalogue?// (2008): 1. Web. 28 Oct 2009. . Quote "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought...state"

anis, Mark W. "LAW AND RELIGION IN POST-COMMUNIST EUROPE/LAWS ON RELIGION AND THE STATE IN POST-COMMUNIST EUROPE." //Journal of Law & Religion// 21.2 (2005): 449-454. //Advanced Placement Source//. EBSCO. Web. 28 Oct. 2009.

Quote "Islam cannot be separated...lives"

Shiekh, Ja'far. "Separation Of Church And State." //Separation Of Church And State// 13.3 1. Web. 28 Oct 2009. .