Nowadays the largest part of our world operates based on a segregation between science, our values, political views, that is for a great number of people what they hold most important, and on the other hand religion. Whether the Chinese government should close it’s borders to prevent further spread of the Corona virus, is a decision not at all influenced by people’s religious beliefs, but is determined by the general well being and the security of the stable economy of it’s country. This hierarchy didn’t always have the same structure; in the Middle Ages, where emotivism ruled, religion was intertwined with our values and reason became subversive to it. Instead of suppressing our emotion with logical structures telling us what (not) to do regardless of what we want to do, our reason was given a complementary function to our emotion, like a voice in the back of our heads. Because philosophy practiced theurgy, thus gave rational arguments for their religious beliefs, it was the most appropriate tool to serve religion and made it more accessible for scientists.
Although contemporary thinkers tend to suggest otherwise, our modern values have been influenced by religion. ‘Greed’ for example is one of the seven sin’s, which tells you not to steal. We have now incorporated this norm into our law and therefore say that you ought not to steal because of it’s illegal essence. However, placing such a norm under the law doesn’t exclude the influential role religion has had on it. Religion still played a part in the formation of this value of us, whether we write it down and add certain measures or punishments to it afterwards or not.
However, we shouldn’t exaggerate in acknowledging the influence religion has had on our values and keep in mind that lot’s of other things attributed to the final product.
From Knights to computers 