Theism is the strong conviction that gods or a God exists. It is a firm belief in the existence of a sovereign being and other divinities. Majority of people interpret theism as the renunciation of atheism. Atheism is the term given to the skepticism that there is a God or otherwise gods. This freethinking belief does not believe in religion (Craig, 1997).
Naturalism is the firm belief that the behavior of human beings is greatly influenced and controlled by the natural environment. This belief urges that every single thing that happens occur naturally. This concept rejects the existence of sovereign beings and divinities despite it agreeing with some scientific (Craig, 1997).
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Naturalism and theism agree on majority of their beliefs apart from one major one which has been a major source of controversy. Theism strongly believes in the existence of a sovereign being as well as divinities while naturalism does not. Is it possible for the world to be a good place without the aspect of religion or a sovereign being? (Craig, 1997). Both Antony and Craig make very compelling arguments about this issue, however, Craig’s point of view is the most useful and reasonable approach
It is indeed true that theism, in all its different forms, plays a significant role in governing and controlling the moral behaviors of people in the society. It does not however, mean that in absence of religion or theism there would be no moral grounds in the society. Theism just plays a vital role in emphasizing the need for morality and holding people accountable for their actions. It would be very narcissistic and discourteous to draw the conclusion that only those individuals who believe in theism do good in the society while those who believe in atheism or naturalism are not morally upright. The choice of believing in a supreme being should be a preference like how one selects their favorite foods or drinks, but not a means to judge the choices of other people simply because they have differing tastes from your own. This primitive thinking would conclude that is God or the other deities were not in existence there would be no ethical responsibility, duty, accountability or values.
Principles and morals would still exist in the absence of theism, the only difference would be things would not be judged as good or evil. There is a very high possibility that people would still behave the same way that they do today because it is not theism that determines the actions of an individual but rather their subconscious and personal decision. morality is something that is embedded in all of us, which is why one experiences contrasting feelings when they are trying to make a choice, one is right and the other wrong. Right choice tends to be significant and one has something to sacrifice, after which one has a sense of fulfillment or achievement while wrong decisions are light to make and leave one unfulfilled (Antony, 2011). Therefore, morality cannot be limited or confined only to theism but also naturalism and atheism too. Confining it to one concludes that morality only came into being when religions were introduced, so other previous life forms like the early were not morally upright (Craig, 1997).
Many people who are firm believers of theism consider naturalism and atheism as individuals who have no principles since they believe they have no consequences for their actions now or after they are dead. They tend to believe that atheists are bound to do all forms of reckless behaviors irrespective of their consequences since they will not be held accountable for their actions. One does not have to believe in a certain religion in order to realize that taking another person’s life is wrong, factors such as sentiments, emotion, custom and compassion influences one’s moral choices. However, in absence of religion it becomes quite hard to comprehend who instils the moral values in people.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions so there should be no right or wrong belief. Individuals from all three forms of believe should respect and tolerate each other because at the end of the day their diversity makes morality an integral part of society (Antony, 2011). When we believe that morality is fundamentally a part of our subconscious, we uphold integrity for fear of consequences, which is a combination of what theism and naturalism believe. Everyone is bound to be morally upright and accountable irrespective of whether they believe in a sovereign being or in the natural cause of things.
References
Antony, Louise M. (2011). Good Minus God . The New York Times
Craig, W. L. (1997). The indispensability of Theological Meta-ethical Foundation for morality”. Foundations., 5, 9-12.
