Ethics and moral terms, at the beginning of their use, have certain similarities.

They come from two

different cultures but, in their historical development, are in a process of constant influence:
Greek culture and Latin culture.
The etymological root of the notion of ethics is found in the Greek language: ethos, while the notion of morality has its
The root in Latin is: mores.
According to the first tradition of defining ethics, it is considered: the science of behavior,
of morals; theoretical study of the principles that govern practical issues, and morality is
considered: the totality of the means we use to live in a human way;
the set of specific prescriptions adopted by individual or collective agents.
According to the second tradition of definition, ethics is the set of shared rules of conduct.
by a certain community, rules that are based on the distinction between good and evil.
Morality is the set of universally normative principles (often dogmatic),
based on the distinction between good and evil (see J. J. Wundenburger, 1993, p.XIV).

In politics, public administration, business, media, education, medicine, etc., the preferred term is the one
of ethics. The term morality is related to private life. We respect morality in private life and ethics.
in public life (political, civic, professional
Morality expresses what we should do and what we should not do if we were
rational, benevolent, impartial, well-intentioned
2. Prejudices regarding morality
At the level of common sense, morality is often perceived as a type of principles and norms that have
the role of curbing the 'pleasure instinct'. A popular joke says that everything that is pleasant is either illegal,
it is immoral, it is always forbidden, or at least it makes you gain weight. The most common confusion is
the identification of morality with sexual conduct. In this sense, morality means: puritanism,
abstinence, sexual prohibitions, virtue understood as sexual virtue (fidelity or abstinence).
Moralists are seen as guardians of purity, grim, old, inquisitorial, always men
put to judge others, to condemn them in front of public opinion, to point fingers at them. This
confusion comes from an older tradition, specific to premodern society, that is, in the context of
ours, of that type of society where the separation between public and private was weak, the community was
religiously and customarily homogeneous or the community as the primary importance over the individual.

In closed communities, very traditionalist and conservative, fear and reverence towards
"moral authority" was an essential motivation for submission to norms and customs. In communities
Respect and appreciation for one another and for the agreed-upon moral principles come first.
community.
3. Ethics, morality, and religion.

Morality is a considerable part of our lives. If a person approaches the standards

the morale of a community (religious, political, professional, etc.), it enjoys appreciation (it is
valuable member of the community), trust (she is a person you can rely on not to let you down.
betrays, keeps promises, respects principles), or on the contrary, is condemned (judged as a
a person considered guilty, regarded as immoral (worthless as a member of that community)
punished through contempt, opprobrium, isolation, marginalization, exclusion, expulsion.
We can find answers to moral problems from common morality, from customs, from
the standards of the community in which we live. But common morality is unreflective. When it
we adopt, the tendency is to follow others, without asking ourselves why and if it is good or not
the right to do it.
Ethics is a theory of morality. An ethical endeavor means to reflect on principles.
general (including on what basis I choose a certain set of principles in relation to another) and to judge from
The perspective of these principles is what a person, including ourselves, should do in a situation.
particular. Unlike ethics, morality has a significant emotional component.
Ethics: it involves more detachment, exploration, and acceptance of alternative lifestyles.
The acceptance of an ethics does not require the abandonment of a private morality, but rather the consideration of others.
principles and moral norms as possible alternatives in different contexts. The role of ethics is to help
people and institutions to decide what is best to do, on what criteria to choose and what their priorities are
the moral motivations in their actions.
The distinction between ethics and religion From a religious perspective, God is the first cause, including that of
moral acts. It is the supreme normative source. It is present in special intuition and perception (in
revelations, prophecies, is incarnate). Moral precepts are revealed commandments. Religious people
accept religious morals without seeking evidence, reasons, arguments, or tangible proof. They
guide yourself by the principle: believe and do not research. Divine commandments are a matter of faith, not of
rational deliberation.
The religious moral has as its supreme goal God: 'Love the Lord your God!'
(see the first commandment of the Christian religion). The meaning of a believer's life is salvation and the means
to acquire is to respect the divine path (the divine commandments revealed to the prophets and saints or
embodied in Jesus). The great promise of religious morality is eternal happiness, the one in life
eternal, and in earthly life morality is the preparation to be worthy of this happiness.
Modern and postmodern societies have affirmed the departure from religious particularism. Such
societies take on the characteristics of secularization (of the separation of church from both and from secular institutions).
This does not mean that modernity is atheistic, but that it is characterized by very communities.
heterogeneous religious, separates private from public, is contractualist, including regarding norms
ethics focuses on the development of institutions and organizations that need ethical codes
Particularize. The problems of creating such codes are of the type: How could we
we coexist well and rightly within a certain institution or organization, regardless of beliefs
religions, the principles and moral habits of each of us?
The religious morality becomes a personal and community option, but it cannot function as such in
professions, political life, secular non-governmental organizations, in administration. For
For the functioning of public life, we need a rational morality instead of a religious one (derived
in faith). This involves questioning beliefs, customs, norms,
the disappearance of transcendental certainties such as: it is written; the Prophet said so; it was said or
Jesus did; this is how Buddha teaches us.

If we refer to the foundation of religious approaches to what globalization means, this

it can only be one moral. Religious doctrines at the level of dogma are very different, they have as
the central element is the divine being and cannot constitute a binder, nor a basis in the dialogue of an ethics
globalize. In monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) there is a belief in a Being
Supreme, it is assumed a divine order of the universe and submission to a moral code encompassed in
the holy book. Even in these religions, the Almighty Being is understood differently. For example, in
Christianity teaches that God is Triune in Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while in Judaism, it is
recognized God the Creator. Eastern belief systems (Hinduism, Buddhism and
Confucianism is considered more as ways of liberation. Therefore, the field in which
religion can be expressed most effectively in the dialogues of globalization as ethics, through a set of
principles and values prescribed in most of the world's religions, with an almost universal character, despite
doctrinal differences.
We note that at the level of ethical discourse, in the case of the Christian religion for example, the language does not
it's about faith, but about ourselves in relation to the world we live in or about actions
ours in a social context. Thus, the action is understood from a moral point of view. A problem
related to religious moral principles is that not all people assume their belonging to a religion and
not all are practitioners. The percentage of those who define themselves as religious persons
it is quite consistent, representing 85% of the world's population. Many believe that in beliefs
There are valuable elements that can support and guide the complex changes of the world. Through
Thus, religions can play an important role in building a global ethics, either as a basis for values.
ethics shared by the majority of the population, either through the support given and the influence they have.

The interest of the world's religions in a global ethics was expressed through the meeting in Chicago, in
in 1993, at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, an occasion with
what was proclaimed in the Declaration Toward a Global Ethics. This declaration states
there is already a consensus among religions that can be the basis for a global ethic, a minimum
a fundamental consensus regarding mandatory values, irrevocable standards, and attitudes
fundamental morale.
Through universally recognized and assumed ethical values, the major religious systems can
contributes to the new ethical construction in a globalized world. However, it is necessary to clarify that
Declaration Toward a Global Ethics must be interpreted as an attempt to synthesize the great
religion, a form of global religion that transcends all religions, a syncretism, and neither as a
the substitute for these. The declaration highlights some common ethical values of religions, which can be
as both believers and non-believers, researchers, philosophers, theologians or simply
simple for the ordinary citizen of the global village" who does not have specific training in the field of ethics.
The goal is to emphasize what unites the great religions, and not what separates them.

The call for a global ethic in the new millennium was also made by the Dalai Lama, who understood that a
a new global order requires a global ethics
All major religions of the world, with an emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness, can
promote inner values. But the reality of today's world is that the foundation of ethics in religion
it is no longer suitable. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come
the time to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion