""Vertical morality teaches that authority, power, and a moral code of right and wrong, or acceptable and unacceptable, come from 'above' ― an external superior who designates rules, systems, and tenets that must be obeyed by those beneath," said Tia Levings, a former Christian fundamentalist and author of A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy. In the context of religion, the superior is God."
""Vertical morality in Christianity is the idea that our ethics and behaviors have a duty to please God alone. We get our morals from God and we must obey him, furthering the will of God no matter the cost," said April Ajoy, author of Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith. The term has become popular in the social media sphere in recent years, thanks to viral videos from content creator and activist Rachel Klinger Cain."
Vertical morality defines right and wrong by obedience to an external superior rather than by compassion or consequences for others. In religious contexts the superior is God; in politics the superior can be an authoritarian leader, and in cults it is a controlling figure. The framework teaches that ethics exist to please that superior, so moral actions follow commands above all else. That orientation can lead individuals who profess Christian faith to support punitive immigration policies, demonize LGBTQ people, and prioritize loyalty over mercy. The term gained traction on social media and is linked to concepts like divine command theory.
Read at BuzzFeed
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]