Do religious beliefs actually have any significant bearing on moral decision making?
April 15, 2013 at 9:14 am
Hi everyone I am doing research as to whether religious beliefs actually do affect the amount of pro-social behaviours engaged in and moral decision making. I would really appreciate it if you take the time to fill out this survey, I need a lot of participants.
Comments are also welcome on whether you would expect moral decision making to actually be more affected by the society in which the individual operates and thus little correlation or whether religious individuals will act in more "irrational" ways in order to adhere to scripture as Richard Dawkins has suggested.
Please - State your Gender
The current educational level you are studying for or highest attained.
Your religious beliefs(denomination of Christianity if applicable) / If not religious then whether atheist or agnostic
How strong you consider these beliefs from 1-9 (9 highest)
Do your parents have any religious beliefs?
To what extent do you think they influenced you morally? (1-9)
To what extent do you agree with the following statements from 1-9 (9 completely agree)
"Different types of morality cannot be compared as to 'rightness.'
Rigidly codifying an ethical position that prevents certain types of actions could stand in the way of better human relations and adjustment.
Whether a lie is judged to be moral or immoral depends upon the circumstances surrounding the action.
No rule concerning lying can be formulated; whether a lie is permissible or not permissible totally depends upon the situation.
What is ethical varies from one situation and society to
another.
If an action could harm an innocent other, then it should not be done.
Deciding whether or not to perform an act by balancing the positive consequences of the act against the negative consequences of the act is immoral.
Please answer yes or no to these situations.
1.You are standing on a bridge when an out-of-control mining cart comes into view. You can see 5 workers on the track who you suppose will be instantly killed unless you push a large rock off the bridge to stop the cart. However if you do this the cart driver will be killed. Do you push the rock?
2.This time instead of a rock there is a large man you could push. He and the cart driver will die but 5 workers will survive. Do you push the man?
3. In a separate instance you can throw yourself in front of the cart, killing you and the cart driver but 5 workers will survive. Do you jump?
Please answer every question as it is part of my dissertation/thesis research. I will post the full data results afterwards. Please feel free to comment on any similar topics.
Comments are also welcome on whether you would expect moral decision making to actually be more affected by the society in which the individual operates and thus little correlation or whether religious individuals will act in more "irrational" ways in order to adhere to scripture as Richard Dawkins has suggested.
Please - State your Gender
The current educational level you are studying for or highest attained.
Your religious beliefs(denomination of Christianity if applicable) / If not religious then whether atheist or agnostic
How strong you consider these beliefs from 1-9 (9 highest)
Do your parents have any religious beliefs?
To what extent do you think they influenced you morally? (1-9)
To what extent do you agree with the following statements from 1-9 (9 completely agree)
"Different types of morality cannot be compared as to 'rightness.'
Rigidly codifying an ethical position that prevents certain types of actions could stand in the way of better human relations and adjustment.
Whether a lie is judged to be moral or immoral depends upon the circumstances surrounding the action.
No rule concerning lying can be formulated; whether a lie is permissible or not permissible totally depends upon the situation.
What is ethical varies from one situation and society to
another.
If an action could harm an innocent other, then it should not be done.
Deciding whether or not to perform an act by balancing the positive consequences of the act against the negative consequences of the act is immoral.
Please answer yes or no to these situations.
1.You are standing on a bridge when an out-of-control mining cart comes into view. You can see 5 workers on the track who you suppose will be instantly killed unless you push a large rock off the bridge to stop the cart. However if you do this the cart driver will be killed. Do you push the rock?
2.This time instead of a rock there is a large man you could push. He and the cart driver will die but 5 workers will survive. Do you push the man?
3. In a separate instance you can throw yourself in front of the cart, killing you and the cart driver but 5 workers will survive. Do you jump?
Please answer every question as it is part of my dissertation/thesis research. I will post the full data results afterwards. Please feel free to comment on any similar topics.
