What are Religious Beliefs, Morals, Ethics, and Laws?

Laws, Morals, Ethics, and Religious Beliefs
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Morals, laws, ethics, and religious beliefs are purposed to help individuals cohabit. These external forces are responsible for governing and guiding human conduct in a particular society or practice. If these external forces were not present, individuals would be at liberty to act in whichever manner they deem appropriate because there would be no consequences to their actions. Thus, morals, laws, ethics, and religious beliefs serve as guidelines that govern human conduct in matters of wrong and right. Entailed in this paper is a discussion of the parallels and variances between morals, laws, religious beliefs, and ethics. Also discussed is how each of these forces affects individuals’ behaviors and how they affect the author’s behavior.
What are Religious Beliefs, Morals, Ethics, and Laws?
The word “Law” refers to a collection of rules that are established by a government or society to deal with business agreements, crime, and social relationships. The word “ethics” refers to a system of principles or standards by which a community or groups of individuals regulate their behavior, allowing certain procedures to be deemed ‘acceptable’ or ‘unacceptable.’ The term “morality” refers to codes of conduct that are put forth by groups (for example, a religion) or a society, or adopted by individuals for their behavior (Gert, 2002). The term “religion” refers to the unified system of practices, beliefs, feelings, and dogmas that define the relationship between human beings and divinity or sacred. These external forces are interwoven to secure the foundation in which entire societies exist.
Similarities
The terms “morals” and “ethics” are often used synonymously, as if they are synonyms, but they are not. They do, however, share certain similarities which include: They discuss the same thing – what is bad or good, incorrect or correct, and wrong or right, in different scenarios and circumstances. Laws and ethics are closely interwoven – they assume each other as they each have a focus on wrong and right, preventing immoral deeds, and justice achievement (Spîrchez, 2016). Morals and laws are intimately related to each other. Generally, laws are based on the moral principles of a society such as fairness, honesty, and justice (Spîrchez, 2016). Both laws and morals regulate the behavior of individuals in a society. Religion and morality are similar in that; religion is a codified set of beliefs which have morality embedded within tenets of each particular religion.
The similarities shared between religious beliefs, laws, ethics, and morals stem from their shared role in trying to make individuals behave in a certain manner. These external forces offer formal guidance to individuals regarding how they should conduct themselves. Religious beliefs can be derived from existing doctrines or personal revelations which give birth to strict rules of behavior. Laws, morals, and ethics dictate what is wrong and right. Thus, the similarities that exist...