Treat moral law as binding beyond convenience
Do what is right even when expediency, popularity, or private advantage points elsewhere.
Skip to atlas contentM376 · Interdependence and Global Responsibility M112 · Family, Sexuality and Relationships M030 · Life, Violence and Peace M279 · Anti-Trafficking and Victim Protection M523 · Nichiren Buddhist Human Revolution M431 · Bodhisattva Ethics M383 · Humanitarian Action and Impartial Service M538 · Swedenborgian Charity and Use M454 · Soto Zen Precept Ethics M565 · Shinnyo-en Compassionate Practice M045 · Property, Work and Economic Justice M025 · Life, Violence and Peace M458 · Jewish Mitzvot and Applied Justice M334 · Animal Welfare and Humane Care M439 · Universal Responsibility and Compassion M160 · Community, Education and Spiritual Responsibility M180 · Animals, Environment, Health and Technology M358 · Adventist Wholistic Christian Ethics M066 · Justice, Law and Governance M408 · Climate Ethics and Planetary Responsibility M497 · Modern Humanist Ethics M529 · Unitarian Freedom, Reason and Tolerance M373 · Interdependence and Global Responsibility M590 · Cao Dai Love, Justice and Religious Harmony
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
Treat others as you wish to be treated
Use reciprocal moral consideration.
Treat prisoners humanely
Protect the dignity and basic welfare of detained persons.
Treat trafficked persons as victims rather than offenders
Do not punish people for unlawful acts that were a direct consequence of being trafficked.
Turn adversity into value
Use hardship as an opportunity for learning, courage, solidarity, and constructive action.
Undertake responsibility for the welfare of all beings
Commit one's moral and spiritual development to the liberation and well-being of others.
Unify humanitarian service without exclusion
Organize inclusive service so aid is available across the whole community or territory.
Unite faith with good deeds
Do not separate religious belief from concrete acts of justice, service, and care.
Unite wisdom, compassion, and ethical conduct
Do not separate insight or spiritual attainment from compassionate moral behavior.
Use every moment as an opportunity for moral growth
Approach ordinary circumstances, hardship, and relationships as opportunities to reduce delusion and deepen compassion.
Use fair weights and measures
Maintain accurate measurement and pricing.
Use force proportionately
When force is permitted, limit it to what is necessary.
Use honest weights and measures
Maintain accurate standards in trade and do not manipulate quantity, weight, capacity, or price.
Use humane methods when animals are killed
Minimize fear, pain, and distress through competent, appropriate, and regulated methods.
Use inner peace to support social peace
Cultivate emotional discipline and compassion as foundations for nonviolent relationships and institutions.
Use knowledge for service
Apply learning toward healing, justice, and flourishing.
Use medical knowledge for healing, not harm
Apply health knowledge for patient welfare and dignity.
Use music and art to elevate rather than degrade
Create and choose artistic expression that supports dignity, moral reflection, beauty, and spiritual growth.
Use power to serve
Treat authority as responsibility for the common good.
Use precaution under serious environmental uncertainty
Take proportionate preventive action when credible risks of grave or irreversible climate harm remain scientifically uncertain.
Use reason and science in moral inquiry
Revise ethical judgments through evidence, critical reflection, open inquiry, and intellectual honesty.
Use reason in spiritual and moral reflection
Test inherited claims through thought, evidence, experience, dialogue, and conscience.
Use reason together with empathy
Join evidence and critical thinking with compassion for affected persons and sentient beings.
Use religious diversity to build peace
Approach multiple traditions as resources for reconciliation, mutual respect, and common moral action.