Is it good that Religious moral systems tend to be absolute?

[AgnosticBoy]

I was searching up religious moral systems and one common critique I found was the absolute nature of these systems, particularly in the monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc).

First, here's general description of religious moral systems (monotheistic ones, at least):

• Divine origin: Many religions assert their moral laws come directly from God or a sacred source, which is presumed perfect and timeless.
• Universal application: The rules are meant to apply to all people, in all places, for all time.
• Moral certainty: This provides adherents with a sense of clear right and wrong, avoiding moral relativism.

I talked with several Ai chat platforms, and here were some of the critiques regarding the absolute aspect:

• Tendency Toward Absolutism: Religions like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism often frame moral rules as divinely ordained, implying they’re universal and non-negotiable. For example, the Ten Commandments or certain Quranic injunctions are presented as timeless truths. This can create a sense of moral certainty, where actions are deemed inherently right or wrong, regardless of context. (This came from Grok, Ai chat platform on X, formerly Twitter
• Absolutism can slow or block changes that most people come to see as ethical improvements. Example: Opposition to ending slavery, extending rights to women, or accepting LGBTQ+ rights has often been framed as upholding “unchanging divine law.” (from ChatGPT Ai
• Many religious moral frameworks rely on fixed texts or doctrines, which can discourage questioning or adaptation to new contexts. This can lead to inflexibility, where moral rules are applied without nuance, sometimes clashing with modern ethical challenges or scientific understanding (Grok). Real-life moral dilemmas often involve conflicting values, unique contexts, and unforeseen circumstances (ChatGPT).

What's your view of this critique? Is it a good thing for morals to be absolute? If it is, then please also address the negative points above.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Is it a good thing for morals to be absolute? If it is, then please also address the negative points above.

I'm not against absolute moral standards entirely, but rather it's more of the case for me when it comes to knowing which ones should be absolute and which ones shouldn't be. That is the weakness with religions in my view unless you already are a believer.

The reason I'm okay with some morals being absolute is because they are some standards that are critical for society to thrive. There's the Golden Rule for instance, which I doubt there would be many objections to something like that being absolute.

Besides just the knowing issue, I'm not against absolute morals, in principle. I just have a hard time believing that all of them have to be absolute. We could have some that are absolute while others are much more flexible.

Tendency Toward Absolutism: Religions like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism often frame moral rules as divinely ordained, implying they’re universal and non-negotiable. For example, the Ten Commandments or certain Quranic injunctions are presented as timeless truths. This can create a sense of moral certainty, where actions are deemed inherently right or wrong, regardless of context.

Moral certainty is not a bad thing if it's based on good reasons and evidence. If anything, moral ambiguity can be a bad thing.

Absolutism can slow or block changes that most people come to see as ethical improvements. Example: Opposition to ending slavery, extending rights to women, or accepting LGBTQ+ rights has often been framed as upholding “unchanging divine law.”

I'm more of an agnostic in this case because none of the sides (the absolute moral side vs. the progressive morality side) have proven their case. If we say that heterosexual marriage is an absolute moral standard, then saying that the culture today sees it differently, doesn't disprove the absolute standard. But then it's legitimate to ask, why would heterosexual marriage be a moral standard to begin with? Why would gay marriage be wrong when there is no harm in it? Again, this is the biggest problem to absolute morality in my view. Justifying that they should be absolute and that they come from God, etc.

If anything, I can see problems coming up by using going off of the current cultural norms because it can lead to conflict when there are too many different moral standards, and ones that keep changing. These standards aren't as respected nor as stable as standards that are deemed absolute.