Respect legitimate communal rituals
Honor practices that sustain identity without violating dignity.
Skip to atlas contentM155 · Community, Education and Spiritual Responsibility M163 · Animals, Environment, Health and Technology M341 · African Communal Duties and Peoples' Ethics M202 · Medical and Research Ethics M502 · Physician's Pledge and Medical Professionalism M316 · Refugee Protection and Asylum M050 · Property, Work and Economic Justice M188 · Religious and Spiritual Responsibility M184 · Religious and Spiritual Responsibility M118 · Family, Sexuality and Relationships M222 · Disability, Accessibility and Inclusion M145 · Community, Education and Spiritual Responsibility M022 · Life, Violence and Peace M259 · Labor Rights and Decent Work M447 · Soto Zen Precept Ethics M563 · Shinnyo-en Compassionate Practice M169 · Animals, Environment, Health and Technology M554 · Moravian Unity, Liberty and Love M059 · Property, Work and Economic Justice M455 · Jewish Mitzvot and Applied Justice M401 · Duties to Future Generations M400 · Brethren Peace, Simplicity and Service M587 · Cao Dai Love, Justice and Religious Harmony M061 · Justice, Law and Governance
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
Respect life broadly
Cultivate reverence for living beings.
Respect others without discrimination
Treat fellow human beings with equal consideration and reject status-based contempt or exclusion.
Respect patient autonomy
Honor capable patients' informed choices within ethical and legal limits.
Respect patient autonomy and dignity
Honor informed choices, bodily integrity, personal values, and the equal dignity of every patient.
Respect refugee freedom of movement and basic rights
Protect lawful movement, documentation, work, education, and access to essential services.
Respect rest and humane limits on labor
Protect recovery, worship, family life, and health.
Respect sacred places and objects
Do not desecrate places, texts, remains, or objects held sacred by communities.
Respect sacred times of rest
Preserve recurring time for worship, reflection, family, and humane rest.
Respect singleness and celibate commitments
Do not demean nonmarried or vowed forms of life.
Respect supported decision-making
Provide assistance that enables persons to exercise their own legal capacity and choices.
Respect teachers and learners
Honor the dignity and responsibilities of education.
Respect the dignity of life
Treat life as possessing profound moral value.
Respect the right to organize without retaliation
Do not punish workers for lawful organizing or representative activity.
Respect the Three Treasures
Treat Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha - or their functional equivalents of awakening, teaching, and community - with reverence.
Respond to another person's true needs
Offer assistance that is attentive to the person's real condition rather than one's assumptions or self-image.
Respond to climate and ecological risk
Reduce foreseeable environmental harm.
Respond to grace with faith, love, and hope
Express religious gratitude through trusting faith, active love, and enduring hope.
Return lost or entrusted property
Restore property to its rightful owner.
Return lost property
Restore identifiable lost property to its rightful owner rather than benefiting from another person's loss.
Safeguard the needs and interests of future generations
Make present decisions with serious regard for the well-being and legitimate interests of people not yet born.
Seek communal discernment before major decisions
Pursue wisdom through prayer, study, discussion, and accountable community deliberation.
Seek harmony among religions
Recognize shared moral truths across religious traditions and cooperate without erasing meaningful differences.
Seek justice
Act impartially and oppose exploitation and oppression.