Ethics and morality are often used interchangeably and can mean the same thing in casual conversation. Strictly speaking,, morality is what we would call moral standards and conduct while ethics is the formal study of those standards and conduct. Atheists and theists frequently debate ethics on several levels: what is the origin of morality, what are proper moral behaviors, how should morality be taught, what is the nature of morality, etc.

 

Read Article: Ethics & Morality: Philosophy of Behavior, Choice, and Character

It's easy to criticize America's Religious Right because of all the extremist views they hold, but not everyone realizes that there are even more extreme religious believers who are well to the right of the Religious Right. What makes them important is the fact that they aren't simply more extreme, but because they defend ideas and principles which are consistent with those of the "mainstream" Religious Right.

In fact, it could be argued that these further extremists are actually more consistent in their views and that the "mainstream" Religious Right has had to compromise on too much for the sake of political respectability or expediency. Given how anathema the idea of compromise can be to the Religious Right, it's really disturbing to imagine these defenders of uncompromising right-wing Christianity having any sort of influence over the course of political events. Read more...

One disturbing facet of many religions is how they try to convince people that they have some "problem" then informing them about a "cure." People can learn pretty quickly on their own to worry about fire or bears, but it takes religion to get people to worry about "sin" and "karma," and those same religions just happen to have the solution: submission to a self-proclaimed authority, following their rules, etc. Even worse, the rules are set up in a way to almost guarantee failure, thus ensuring that people keep having their "problem" for which they have to keep returning to religion to "solve." Read more...

Whereas apostasy and heresy involve directly conflicts between social groups, whether within religious communities or between religious communities, blasphemy is conceived as a conflict between humans and the divine. Specifically, blasphemy is the accusation whenever a person fails to accord the divine the honor and respect that is presumably owed.

 

Read Article: Blasphemy as Spiritual Conflict