Are morals formed mostly by: religion, personal experience, society, or laws?

Question

I think laws and societal norms are more responsible for shaping morality than say our own personal experiences, and even more so from religion.

Ex: things like illegal drug use are looked down upon pretty harshly because they're illegal, but prescription drug use isn't given a second thought.

And divorce is common place, while homosexuality stirs up all kinds of moral objections. To me this suggests that what's commonly accepted as okay, is viewed as moral, while things that are uncommon and illegal are automatically viewed as immoral, regardless of whether or not they really immoral.

Answer 1

An individual's morals depend on the person and their experiences. Most people have the same moral structure they were taught as they grew up. Some people are less likely to adopt morals without questioning them, and a few are amoral. I would say it depends largely on personal experience, simply because religion, society and laws are all part of a person's experience in moral development.

Answer 2

Because society is so diverse, there is a lot of gray area between social norms and laws.... ex there are social norms (unerage drinking, smoking weed, etc.) that are illegal, and you can also violate social norms (homosexuality, cross dressing, gender roles, etc.) without breaking the law.

Answer 3

Zippidy do da day!  Good luck with the rest of the answers!

Answer 4

Most don't want to be hurt, stolen from, abused, humiliated, or harassed so why do we want to do them to others?  We shouldn't.  This is why your brain forms such morals.

Answer 5

I think that studies have been conducted on very small children, that concluded that they instinctively know 'right' from 'wrong' in a very basic context.  Although religion and social conditioning are certainly in part responsible for shaping our morals particularly as the ethical questions become more complex, at a more basic level, once we are old enough to have empathy, we are instinctive in forming basic common morals.

Answer 6

it depends on who the person is.

someone like pres. bush or a crazy fundamentalist moral's is most influenced by religion.

someone who has experienced trauma and hard times like a rape victim is most influenced by experience. I knew someone whose dad was a violent alcoholic. He was 53 years old and he never drank in his life.

Studies have shown that people have an inherent instinct to know right from wrong. Morality is really up to the individual. Society influences one's moral's to a point, because people look to society to figure out how to think, what to think, and what *other* people consider is right.

You get my point. I think laws have the least influence on morals, if any.  Just because something is illegal, doesn't mean you have to believe its wrong. it only influences behavior, which is NOT the same thing as morals. smoking weed and underage s*x are illegal, but since when has that stopped anyone?

Answer 7

I think it's a combination.  Mostly personal experience and your upbringing.