Moral Tutors

“The great religions are the most effective moral tutors the world has ever known. They begin by turning our gaze outwards, to the human other who is a reflection of the Divine Other. They teach us habits of virtue by getting us to do ethically demanding things, visiting the sick, comforting the bereaved, helping the needy, giving time and money to charitable causes. There is hardly a religion that does not encourage its followers to do deeds such as these. And they are done in the context of community. For it is in community that we learn the habits of cooperation and mutual support that make us ‘moral animals’.”

The Great Partnership, Chapter 8, p. 139