We've discussed in class several things relating to duty. Christians have a duty to follow Jesus' teachings and help attain the Kingdom of God, Confucius taught the duty related to human ritual and Muhammed taught a duty of submission to Allah.
Regardless of our own religious beliefs (or lack thereof) duty is something that we can all accept and implement into our lives. What, therefore, should be the duty we should have in a secular 21st century society?
I think your emphasis on duty is a great way to secularize our actions. I think we might start with individual accountability and a rigorous self-examination of cultural, traditional, and religious beliefs. Does our membership in any particular way of thinking transgress on another being’s sovereignty? Do our beliefs cause harm, not only to humans, but other creatures, the environment and the world – if we are acting from good will and not harming others, I think that’s a good place to start.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the notion of duty is one of a long list of moral concepts that do not necessarily require religious practice to understand and apply. Moreover, when we interrogate many religious duties, it is possible to interpret them as only partly or metaphorically about god or gods, and primarily as duties toward ourselves and each other.
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