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Golden Rules

This page also cites some research studies and statistics that show morality does not depend on religion. That information is right after these various versions of the Golden Rule, up until the one attributed to Jesus (excluding the ones after that time). As you can see, the Golden Rule is much, much older than Christianity.

"This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain done unto you."--Brahmanism, Mahabharata 5, 1517, 1000 BCE from _The_Encyclopedia_of_Religious_Quotations_ Edited and Compiled by Frank S. Mead ©1965

"Do not to your neighbor what you would take ill from him."-- Pittacus, 650 BCE

"Do unto another what you would have him do unto you, and do not do unto another what you would not have him do unto you. Thou needest this law alone. It is the foundation of all the rest." -- Confucius, 500 BCE

"What you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to others."-- also Confucious, 500 BCE

"Hurt not others in ways, that you yourself would find hurtful." -- Buddhism. Udana-Varga 5:18, 500 BCE, from _The_Encyclopedia_of_Religious_Quotations_ Edited and Compiled by Frank S. Mead ©1965

"Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing." -- Thales, 464 BCE

"What you wish your neighbors to be to you, such be also to them." -- Sextus, a Pythagorean, 406 BCE

"We should conduct ourselves toward others as we would have them act toward us." -- Aristotle, 385 BCE

"Cherish reciprocal benevolence, which will make you as anxious for another's welfare as your own." -- Aristippus of Cyrene, 365 BCE

"Act toward others as you desire them to act toward you." -- Isocrates, 338 BCE

"Do not do to others what you would not like others to do to you." -- Hillel, 50 BCE

Then, some time later . . .

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." -- Jesus of Nazareth, circa 30 CE

Someone else also has a Golden Rules page (off-site).

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There is also empirical evidence, in the form of research studies that prove you don't need religion to behave morally. From _The_Psychology_of_Religion:_An_Empirical_Approach_ by Hood, Spilka, Hunsberger, and Gorsuch -(a bibliography of only the studies mentioned below follows):

In reference to Lawrence Kohlberg's studies on the moral development of children, "Kohlberg is very clear that moral and religious development are quite separate, and that the two should not be confused. For example, he has suggested that it is a fallacy to think that
'basic moral principles are dependent upon a particular religion, or any religion at all. We have found no important differences in development of moral thinking between Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, Moslems, and atheists...' (Kohlberg, 1980, p.33-34)
Other research by Gorsuch and McFarland,(1972)and by Selig and Teller,(1975)confirms Kohlberg's conclusion in this regard."

From the same book, "And although we might expect religion to have some impact in reducing dishonesty and cheating among religious persons, the evidence in general suggests that it has little or no impact in this regard." It then cites studies done in the 1920's by Hartshorne and May of 11,000 school children. Looking for a link between religiousness and cheating, they used behavioral tests such as measuring answer-changing on self-graded tests, and peeking during tests in which they were told to close their eyes. They found no relationship between religiousness and cheating. Other early studies, (such as Hightower's) found no relationship between knowledge of the Bible, and lying/cheating.

Guttman's study of religious school students in Israel discovered that religious children "indicated some resistance to temptation on a paper-and-pencil test, but were actually more inclined to cheat on a behavioral measure". Another study (Smith, Wheeler, and Diener) compared college students who were: involved in the "Jesus movement", otherwise religious, nonreligious, and atheistic. They found no group any more likely to cheat on a classroom exam than the others.

"...when we turn to studies that incorporate actual behavioral measures of helping, there is little evidence that religious people are more helpful than less religious or nonreligious people...Batson's et al reveiw of six early studies employing behavioral measures shows that five of the six found no evidence that more religious persons are more helpful..." and the sixth study's finding "held only when the request came from a religious person. Batson et al have concluded that 'this evidence strongly suggests that the more religious show no more active concern for others in need than do the less religious. The more religious only present themselves to be more concerned.'"
The authors go on to say, "...many studies have linked various aspects of religiousness with increased discriminatory attitudes..." but then say that the relationship is more complex because the prejudice-making factor may actually be right-wing authoritarianism which happens to be highly correlated with fundamentalism. (Altemeyer and Hunsberger). Fundamentalism referred not to only Christian fundamentalism, but a way of holding any faith. It was used to mean,
"the belief that there is one set of religious teachings that clearly contains the fundamental, basic, intrinsic, essential, inerrant truth about humanity and deity; that this essential truth is fundamentally opposed by forces of evil which must be vigourously fought; that this truth must be followed today according to the fundamental, unchangeable practices of the past; and that those who believe and follow these fundamental teachings have a special relationship with the deity."
Adorno et al and also Altermeyer and Hunsberger found nonreligious persons to be the least prejudiced. The authors go on to say, "prejudice seems relatively unrelated to the content of people's beliefs, but it is associated with the ways in which people hold their religious beliefs, possibly through the influence of right-wing authoritarianism."

For those who are interested, the portions of the bibliography of _The_Psychology_of_Religion_ that cite the studies above are as follows: (and after that, evidence from different sources):

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From the book MORALS WITHOUT RELIGION by Margaret Knight:
"At the present time vice is most prevalent in those countries most loyal to the church--in Russia and Ireland, in Spain and Italy, in Mexico and Abyssinia. Protestant Germany was notorious for its Ignorance and immorality. Compulsory education was adopted, and what is the result?--infidel Germany, presenting the highest standard of morals in Europe today The most thoroughly religious city in England is the cathedral city of Canterbury. In this ecclesiastical capital religion has given birth to twins--ignorance and licentiousness. Of the various Christian denominations of the United States, the strongest numerically, the lowest intellectually, and the most devout religiously, are the Roman Catholic and the Methodist. These denominations comprise one-fifth of our population and furnish one third of our criminals...Of the four men whose deaths excited the widest comment here last year, Longfellow and Emerson were unbelievers; Guiteau and Jesse James were Christians. The former were guided by the laws of natural morality; the latter were the legitimate fruits of "Christian morality."
"France. De Bow"s review of the census states the religious belief of French criminals to be as follows :
Roman Catholics 18,939
Jews 130
Protestants 598
Mohammidans 53
Atheists 0
" Not one Atheist in the prisons of France. Yet a single Atheistic society of France numbers twenty thousand!"
"Kansas...A gentleman of Kansas wrote to Chaplain McCleery, asking this question: 'How many Infidels are confined in the Kansas penitentiary?' Chaplain McCleery is reported to have replied In these words, 'There Is but one Infidel confined in the penitentiary, and his Infidelity is of a mild form.'"
"While Christians claim that it is churches and religion that prevent crime, we claim that it is schools and intelligence that will free the world from vice. The advancement of popular education and the declension of church influences are steadily diminishing the number of criminals. In 1860, the United States had one criminal for every 1,647 inhabitants; in 1880 there was but one criminal for every 1,876 inhabitants, a decrease of 13 per cent in twenty years. In England crime has decreased 25 per cent in forty years. Since the add on of compulsory education in Baden, crime h as been reduced 51 per cent. Five years of compulsory education in New York city has been attended by a decrease of 36 per cent In the number of juvenile offenders. In the demonstration of truth figures are eloquent sometimes. Never in such striking contrast have been presented the moralizing influence of the school and the demoralizing influence of the church as in the following tabular statement derived from the Report of the United States Commissioner of Education for 1871. Under the head of Bavaria are given what are termed 'some curious statistics.' The kingdom of Bavaria comprises eight provinces. In four of these provinces the churches exceed in number the schools; in the remaining four there are more schools than churches. This table shows the number of churches, the number of schools, and the number of criminals to each 10,000 inhabitants:
Province. Churches. Schools. Criminals.
Upper Bavaria 55 20 67
Lower Baveria 44 20 87
Upper Paiatinate 47 26 69
Saubia 42 23 61
Average 47 22 71
Province. Churches. Schools. Criminals.
Palatinate 16 43 43
Upper Franconia 17 24 44
Middle Franoonie 16 43 43
Lower Franoonia 18 37 38
Average 20 34 43

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Emmett McLoughlin, (People's Padre):
" I made a survey starting in 1980 and ending in 1981. It was an attempt to find why mass murderers killed people. For eighteen months I cut every article from the Flint Journal telling about a mass murderers. There were 12 of them. I put the articles in a large envelope. I then spent many hours reading the articles trying to find some common link between each murderer. I found 11 of them either had a very religious upbringing, or they carried a Christian Bible with them at all times, or they believed in demons and devils."
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