Religion Preserves Moral Responses

“One significant contribution of religion today is that it preserves what society as a whole has begun to lose: that strong sense of being there for one another, of being ready to exercise mutual aid, to help people in need, to comfort the distressed and bereaved, to welcome the lonely, to share in other people’s sadnesses and celebrations. These moral responses have not disappeared: we see them whenever there is a communal tragedy, a shooting, a terrorist incident or a major accident. People come together to give help and support. Our wellsprings of altruism have not run dry. They are a large part of what makes us human. But we tend not to exercise them on a day-to-day basis. That is what we have lost in society at large, but what can still be found in religious congregations.”

Morality, Chapter 1, p. 36