Paul Tillich on the Relationship between Morality and Religion

In his book Morality and Beyond, Paul Tlllich investigates the relationship between morality and religion. He argues for three theses: The unconditional character of the moral imperative is its religious quality, love as the ultimate source of the moral commands, and grace as the power of the moral motivation. In this paper, I will systematically explore Tillich's view on the relationship between morality and religioa I will also provide a critical evaluation of this view, and the above three theses in particular. Tlllich argues that in many aspects religion (especially Christianity) fulfills morality. For example, we are driven beyond the unbearable tensions of the sphere of law to search for a transmoral conscience. Despite some disagreements with Tlllich, I argue that his general conclusions are plausible. However, some of his discussions arc sketchy, and many more points need to be adduced to support them. This is only the beginning of a very important dialogue.