(ANALYSIS) One of the books I’ve read in the last couple of years that has really stuck with me is Jonathan Haidt’s “The Righteous Mind.”
It’s a distillation of a lot of his work on how people manage to puzzle their way through tricky moral situations. For instance, he discusses the classic Heinz dilemma.
A man’s wife is dying. A pharmacist has a drug that could save her, but charges far more than Heinz can afford. Should Heinz steal the drug?
Some people would say that stealing is always morally wrong, even if it’s done for a noble cause. Others contend that the ends justify the means in situations like this. Stealing may not be morally acceptable, but letting someone die is even worse.
So how do people decide what the right thing to do is? What cognitive resources do they tap into to justify their actions — or their inactions? And do non-religious folks have a different mental framework when it comes to morally complex issues compared to Christians, Jews or Muslims?
The Pew Religious Landscape Study, which is hosted at the Association of Religion Data Archives, includes a four-question battery that begins with the following preamble: How important are each of the following to you when making decisions about right and wrong?
The items listed are religious teachings and belief, logic and reason, practical experience and common sense, and scientific information.
You can read the rest of this post on Substack.
Ryan Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, a pastor in the American Baptist Church and the co-founder and frequent contributor to Religion in Public, a forum for scholars of religion and politics to make their work accessible to a more general audience. His research focuses on the intersection of religiosity and political behavior, especially in the U.S. Follow him on X at @ryanburge.
5965 Village Way, Ste 105 255
San Diego, CA 92130
info@themediaproject.org
(858) 396-3590
Religion Unplugged is part of The Media Project and a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News.
EIN: 83-0461425
Site design by Peter Freeby
The Moral Reasoning Gap In American Christianity – Religion Unplugged
