Avoid envy and covetousness
Do not resent or improperly desire what belongs to another.
Skip to atlas contentM057 · Property, Work and Economic Justice M235 · Religious Community and Leadership Ethics M056 · Property, Work and Economic Justice M130 · Character, Virtue and Self-Mastery M008 · Truth, Speech and Knowledge M406 · Duties to Future Generations M134 · Character, Virtue and Self-Mastery M137 · Character, Virtue and Self-Mastery M592 · Ananda Marga Yama and Niyama M300 · Responsible Business Conduct M165 · Animals, Environment, Health and Technology M124 · Character, Virtue and Self-Mastery M189 · Religious and Spiritual Responsibility M158 · Community, Education and Spiritual Responsibility M105 · Family, Sexuality and Relationships M187 · Religious and Spiritual Responsibility M268 · Public Health and Health Equity M577 · Seventh-day Adventist Whole-Life Ethics M024 · Life, Violence and Peace M428 · Buddhist Moral Discipline M326 · Journalism and Public Information Ethics M128 · Character, Virtue and Self-Mastery M040 · Life, Violence and Peace M604 · Jehovah's Witness Christian Conduct
WORLD MORALS EDITION XXI
World Morals — a shared human inquiry
An interactive atlas of moral teachings across the world's religious and secular traditions — from ancient scriptures to modern ethics.
Comparative atlas · Original English corpus · Evidence before conclusions
A mapping is not a verified quotation. Workbook labels are preserved. An absent mapping does not mean rejection. We do not rank the moral worth of any system.
- Moral teachings
- 610
- Religious systems
- 52
- Nonreligious systems
- 41
- Source evidence rows
- 10620
Many traditions. One invitation to understand.
Find a teaching, follow its source anchors, and explore common ground without erasing differences. Every number describes only the systems represented in this edition.
610 teachings found · Edition XXI
Avoid gambling and predatory games of chance
Do not exploit hope, desperation, or addiction through gambling.
Avoid greed
Resist excessive attachment to wealth or status.
Avoid hypocrisy
Do not claim standards knowingly rejected in practice.
Avoid idle or irresponsible speech
Do not speak carelessly when words may create foreseeable harm.
Avoid imposing irreversible burdens on future people
Do not leave future generations avoidable catastrophic risks, unmanageable waste, depleted resources, or unjust debt.
Avoid intoxication or impaired judgment
Avoid practices that undermine responsibility.
Avoid laziness and neglect
Do not abandon important duties through indifference.
Avoid mental as well as physical theft
Do not take, desire to take, or wrongfully withhold what belongs or is owed to another.
Avoid misleading consumers
Provide accurate information and do not exploit confusion, vulnerability, or deceptive design.
Avoid needless destruction
Do not destroy living systems or cultural goods without reason.
Avoid pride and arrogance
Do not exalt yourself by demeaning others.
Avoid religious hypocrisy
Do not use claims of piety to conceal exploitation, cruelty, or corruption.
Avoid scandalizing or corrupting the vulnerable
Do not normalize wrongdoing that predictably harms others.
Avoid sexual exploitation
Do not use coercion or vulnerability for sexual advantage.
Avoid spiritual coercion
Do not manipulate fear, authority, or dependency to force religious compliance.
Avoid stigmatizing illness
Do not demean or exclude people because of disease, disability, or health status.
Avoid substances that impair health and judgment
Abstain from harmful or irresponsible use of alcohol, tobacco, narcotics, and other intoxicating substances.
Avoid unnecessary violence
Do not use force when less harmful means are reasonably available.
Avoid wrong livelihood
Do not earn a living through practices that foreseeably cause serious harm, exploitation, or moral corruption.
Be accountable and transparent about reporting
Explain decisions, correct errors promptly, and provide channels for legitimate criticism.
Be grateful
Recognize benefits received and respond with appreciation.
Build conditions for durable peace
Address injustice, fear, deprivation, and exclusion that fuel conflict.
Build family life through regular moral instruction
Strengthen households through shared study, responsible example, communication, fidelity, and care.