Religion And Moral Belief

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31539, 29 November 1967, Page 18

Religion And Moral Belief

How far can a religious belief be understood as a moral belief? This is one of the questions for which Mr J. C. Thornton, a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Canterbury, will seek answers on refresher leave in England.

nei oe uiraersuioa as a moral belief? This is one of the questions for which Mr J. C. Thornton, a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Canterbury, will seek answers on refresher leave in England. Mr Thornton said some people held that Professor L. G. Geering’s religious beliefs, for instance, were some kind of sophisticated expression of moral beliefs. Professor Geering quite rightly denied this. “This is a common criticism of modern theology—that it is no more than an expression of moral convictions,” Mr Thornton said. He planned to study, among other things, any real connection which might exist. Mr Thornton said Oxford was a centre of both moral philosophy and the philosophy of religion so he would concentrate his time there under Professor R. A. M. Hare, a world authority in both fields, who visited Christchurch last year.

In moral philosophy Mr Thornton said he would study the logical status of moral beliefs and their justification.

Allied to this would be study of belief in determinism. Should a person be praised or blamed for his actions if they were predetermined anyway?