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Haidt's Use Of Religion And Virtue In Roman Religion

849 Words4 Pages

Romans are viewed by many as people who lacked morals in their religion. Without a written code of morals, the Roman religion was viewed as sacrifices to appease the gods and maintain pax deorum. Some say it had nothing to do with morality, however roman religion was more than just sacrifices to the gods. Roman religion had a system of priests to interpret right and wrong. They used these interpretations to determine their standing with the gods and based their morals and actions on those that would be approved by the gods. The Romans used their religion and piety to guide the morals they valued. Cicero’s “De domo sua” lays out how he viewed the structure of Roman religion. In it he says, “men should superintend both what relates to the religious …show more content…

This idea can show that Roman piety or religious behavior and virtues are linked to their moral character. Cicero demonstrated some of the key virtues in “Catilinam,” he said that “the one side are fighting modesty, on the other wantonness; on the one chastity, on the other uncleanness; on the one honesty, on the other fraud; on the one piety, on the other wickedness; on the one consistency, on the other insanity; on the one honor, on the other baseness; on the one continence, on the other lust” (Cicero, 301). This list of comparisons shows what he and other Romans viewed as good and bad. It included “piety” and what he viewed as the opposite, “wickedness.” Wickedness can be linked to Haidt’s disgust principle as wicked acts are viewed as disgusting and morally wrong. Many other examples of how wickedness was viewed in opposition to piety is demonstrated in Roman texts. “De domo sua” contains a phrase where Cicero says, “You have got to decide this day whether you prefer for the future to deprive frantic and profligate magistrates of the protection of wicked and unprincipled citizens, or even to arm them with the cloak of religion and of the respect due to the immortal gods” (Cicero, 1). This is a way Cicero describes how “wicked and unprincipled citizens” are not related to religion, nor are

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