Editing Philosophy of religion (section)

===Religion and ethics===
[[File:Sacrifice of Isaac-Caravaggio (Uffizi).jpg|thumb|''[[Sacrifice of Isaac (Caravaggio)#Uffizi version|Sacrifice of Isaac]]'', by [[Caravaggio]] (1603)]]
All religions argue for certain values and ideas of the moral Good. Non-monotheistic Indian traditions like Buddhism and [[Advaita Vedanta]] find the highest Good in [[nirvana]] or [[moksha]] which leads to release from suffering and the [[Samsara|rounds of rebirth]] and morality is a means to achieve this, while for monotheistic traditions, God is the source or ground of all morality and heaven in the highest human good. The world religions also offer different conceptions of the source of [[evil]] and [[suffering]] in the world, that is, what is wrong with human life and how to solve and free ourselves from these dilemmas.<ref>Rowe 2007, pp 180</ref> For example, for Christianity, [[Sin in Christianity|sin]] is the source of human problems, while for Buddhism, it is [[Taṇhā|craving]] and [[Avidyā (Buddhism)|ignorance]].

A general question which philosophy of religion asks is what is the relationship, if any, between morality and religion. Brian Davies outlines four possible theses:<ref>Davies 1993, pg. 168.</ref>

*Morality somehow requires religion. One example of this view is [[Kant]]'s idea that morality should lead us to believe in a moral law, and thus to believe in an upholder of that law, that is, God.
*Morality is somehow included in religion, "The basic idea here is that being moral is part of what being religious means."<ref>Davies 1993, pg. 171.</ref> 
*Morality is pointless without religion, for one would have no reason to be moral without it.
*Morality and religion are opposed to each other. In this view, belief in a God would mean one would do whatever that God commands, even if it goes against morality. The view that religion and morality are often opposed has been espoused by atheists like [[Lucretius]] and [[Bertrand Russell]] as well as by theologians like [[Kierkegaard]] who argued for a '[[Fear and Trembling#Teleological suspension of the ethical|teleological suspension of the ethical]]'.<ref>Davies 1993, pg. 174.</ref>

Monotheistic religions who seek to explain morality and its relationship to God must deal with what is termed the [[Euthyphro dilemma]], famously stated in the [[Platonic dialogue]] "[[Euthyphro]]" as: "Is the [[Piety|pious]] (τὸ ὅσιον, i.e. what is morally good) loved by the [[Deity|gods]] because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?" Those who hold that what is moral is so ''because'' it is what God commands are defending a version of the [[Divine command theory]].

Another important topic which is widely discussed in [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]] monotheistic religious philosophy is the problem of human [[Free will]] and God's [[omniscience]]. God's omniscience could presumably include perfect knowledge of the future, leading to [[Theological determinism]] and thus possibly contradicting with human free will.<ref>Anne Lockyer Jordan; Anne Lockyer Jordan Neil Lockyer Edwin Tate; Neil Lockyer; Edwin Tate (25 June 2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=uBVuNip8qjkC ''Philosophy of Religion for A Level OCR Edition'']. Nelson Thornes. p. 211. {{ISBN|978-0-7487-8078-5}}.</ref> There are different positions on this including [[Libertarianism (metaphysics)|libertarianism]] (free will is true) and [[Predestination]].