Words that bear consideration:
“I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without expectations of rewards or punishments after I am dead.”
~Kurt Vonnegut
That point having been considered, something that should have sunk in for me earlier than now is this: religious, as well as nonreligious, teachings about what is moral and what is not are not unlike Vonnegut’s words. They are reminders to behave decently. Some of us, and I say “us” because I include myself, need to be reminded of what’s good, what’s right, what’s important.
Absent such reminders, we might allow ourselves to adjust and adapt to the hard, unkind, amorality of the world by behaving badly. It may be easier than going to the trouble of behaving decently. Being reminded that being kind, behaving decently, and respecting others is good, regardless of from whence the reminder springs.
On the issue of education about morality, here’s another thought on the matter:
“To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
~Theodore Roosevelt
