Morality and the Consequences of Secularization
By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam
11 Feb 2025
The Religious Foundation of Morality
Moral principles such as "do not kill," "do not steal," and "do not commit adultery" are not inherently self-evident truths. Rather, they derive their significance from religious teachings that have shaped human civilization for millennia. These principles have become so deeply ingrained in societies that even as secularism rises, religious morality continues to exert a powerful influence on human behaviour. Without the divine imperative, moral rules could easily be reversed, distorted, or abandoned, as history has repeatedly shown.
The Consequences of Human-Constructed Morality
If morality were purely a human construct, fundamental religious prohibitions—against killing, stealing, and adultery—could have been disregarded or even inverted. A stark contemporary example is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With the backing of the U.S., its allies, and Western media, Israel has engaged in land theft, genocide, and rape and sodomizing of Palestinians. These actions are not only tolerated but actively supported through military aid, diplomatic cover, and economic sanctions against those who challenge these injustices.
Criticism of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights have been met with significant suppression. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has faced sanctions for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, while the war criminals like Benjamin Netanyahu receive standing ovations in the U.S. Congress. Shockingly, some Israeli officials have even suggested legalizing rape and the sexual assault of Palestinians. Israeli snipers have deliberately targeted women and children, and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have boasted about their destruction of Palestinian homes, universities, and hospitals—acts celebrated by segments of Israeli society.
When morality is dictated by ethno nationalism rather than divine command, even the most egregious atrocities become not only permissible, but even glorified.
Secularization and the Inversion of Morality
In his book Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, Peter Beinart explores the moral decay within modern Jewish discourse, attributing it to secularization. He argues that traditional Judaism emphasizes the inherent dignity of all human beings, rooted in the belief that they are created in the image of God. However, in contemporary Israeli nationalism, the state itself has become sacred—its survival and dominance prioritized over the lives of those it subjugates.
Beinart notes a disturbing trend among Jewish communities in the U.S., where questioning the legitimacy of the Israeli state carries greater social penalties than violating religious laws, such as keeping the Sabbath or adhering to kosher dietary restrictions. A similar phenomenon can be observed among many white Christians in the United States, where nationalism has superseded the universal moral principles of Christianity. In such a worldview, an individual’s worth is often determined by their nationality rather than their moral conduct.
This results in a profound inversion of morality: the state becomes an object of devotion, while the intrinsic value of human life is diminished. When religion is replaced by ethno nationalism, morality is not only eroded—it is perverted into a tool of oppression.
Absolute Religious Commands vs. Secular Hypothetical Imperatives
Religious morality is absolute, governed by categorical imperatives—unchanging moral truths such as "do not kill," "do not steal," and "do not commit adultery." These divine commandments establish a stable moral foundation for societies across time and cultures.
By contrast, secular morality operates on hypothetical imperatives, where morality is contingent upon desired outcomes. In this framework, when ethno nationalism becomes the primary goal, any action that advances this goal—no matter how immoral—becomes justifiable. This shift leads to an inversion of moral values, where actions traditionally condemned, such as violence and oppression, are rationalized in pursuit of nationalist ambitions.
In the absence of faith, adhering to the categorical imperatives of religion becomes inconvenient, leading people to increasingly rely on hypothetical imperatives. Even among the religious, only a small fraction consistently follows categorical imperatives. However, those for whom adherence to these principles is their defining faith tend to wield the greatest moral influence in their societies. It is therefore no coincidence that the ten most morally influential figures of the past century have all been theists.
The Collapse of Morality without Religion
History demonstrates that if morality were purely a human construct, power and conquest would be glorified as supreme virtues. Societies without religious moral grounding would inevitably descend into a system where the strong dominate the weak, and the pursuit of power overrides ethical considerations.
Religion, through its absolute moral commands, affirms the intrinsic dignity of all human beings. However, when faith is supplanted by hypothetical imperatives such as ethno nationalism, morality devolves into a justification for oppression. This erosion of moral absolutes leads to the very atrocities that religious teachings were meant to prevent.
In an age where secularism increasingly dictates public discourse, the consequences of abandoning religious morality are becoming ever more apparent. Without divine imperatives to guide human behaviour, morality is left to the whims of power and expedience—ushering in an era where the ends justify the means, and true justice becomes an afterthought.
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A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation.
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