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Should the government pass laws trying to make us morally sound?

I feel that the government should respect all religions as long as they do not create chaos in society. I also feel that moral decsions in some cases should be left up to the individual. It is not any governments job to play God on earth. If someone chooses to follow God then the chances of them getting to heaven are greater, but it needs to be their choice. Education is the key to spreading moral behavior not laws or policies. What do you think?

Public Comments

1. short answer: NO And your premise lacks substance; to be "moral" one does not have to be religious.
2. not the reasoning I would use, but I would get to a similar conclusion - our society is secular, and so is our government. teaching anything that hides religion behind it is left for religious organizations, not government.
3. Well I agree you cannot legislat morality. But not for the reasons you think. It is because what is moral for you may not be for me. Given what you said, I would guess that you think athiests cannot be moral. I wouldn't agree with that. Morality and religion are different things.
4. The government would have to be morally sound to pass such a law.
5. And what laws would make us morally sound? Ones that stop us from surfing porn on the internet, or masturbating in private? How about ones dictating that each and every one of us--regardless of ethnic affiliation--have to attend a Christian church on Sundays? Or ones that tell us we have to vote for one party and one party only? Kind've hard where to draw the line, huh?
6. Why do you equate morality with religiousity? I know many atheists who possess a profound sense of morality--one that surpasses most so-called Christians. To answer your question more directly: Laws and policies are intended (among other things) to maintain--codify if you will--a social arrangement. I don't think it's unnatural that these laws and policies have their genesis in Judeo-Christian values since that was the predominant power structure (authority) at the time of their inception. While laws and policies have evolved to include more diverse views and other religions, the operational word is EVOLVED. They haven't been reinvented. By the way: What kind of education would you suggest? Bible camp? What sort of "moral" education could be expected to maintain appropriate respect for diverse values and cultures? Furthermore, who gets to decide what is moral and what is not? I think this is a loaded question and betrays your own religious biases.
7. Morality is not something that exists with sufficient uniformity to be able to determine much more law than we already have. For instance, consider the 10 Commandments. Our laws against murder, various forms of theft and robbery, laws against perjury (bearing false witness, of course) - we have codified them because it is hard to imagine a society of so many people that could co-exist without such laws. You must respect the life of another person. You must respect the labor that person has expended to earn/make something. You must not tell lies about someone. The problem is that after a while, you get into laws that cease to make complete sense in modern society. For instance, honor they father and mother... but one of my dear friends finally came out of the "childhood abuse" closet regarding things her stepdad did to her when she was 9 or 10. And she was pushing mid-30s when she admitted her shame. How can you honor that kind of thing from either parent? Honor is earned whether from a parent or a total stranger. Thou shalt keep the Sabbath - except that different religions have different Sabbath days. So if we name one, we dishonor the others. Can't play favorites, so a lot of the so-called "Blue Laws" that honored various Sabbaths were really not constitutional. Thou shalt have no other god before Me. But to make that a secular law would be to establish a religion as "official." We can't do that because of the other religions that would become "less official" - which would be patently unfair. Besides, morality cannot be truly taught. Only acceptable behavior can be taught. Morality is what is inside. Behavior is what you show the world. Then, there is this: What if I don't WANT to be morally sound and can find a consenting adult to be unsound with? Whose right is it to dictate to me what I should do behind closed doors when my and my partner do things that don't hurt each other. (Quite the contrary, in fact.) You chose a phrase I would not agree with. The government should not respect any religion. They should respect their citizens' rights to follow their religion of choice - but the religion itself might as well be the Dancers of the Semi-Lunar Fugue as one of the more organized religions. Government should limit its treatment of religions to acknowledging their existence and status for tax purposes. End of story.