Do not destroy heritage for short-term gain
Reject avoidable damage to cultural or natural heritage for profit, war, ideology, convenience, or political domination.
Skip to atlas contentM423 · Cultural and Natural Heritage Stewardship M069 · Justice, Law and Governance M199 · Professional and Computing Ethics M052 · Property, Work and Economic Justice M048 · Property, Work and Economic Justice M470 · Jewish Mitzvot and Applied Justice M486 · Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Ethical Duties M036 · Life, Violence and Peace M006 · Truth, Speech and Knowledge M593 · Ananda Marga Yama and Niyama M504 · Physician's Pledge and Medical Professionalism M003 · Truth, Speech and Knowledge M173 · Animals, Environment, Health and Technology M015 · Truth, Speech and Knowledge M452 · Soto Zen Precept Ethics M231 · Religious Community and Leadership Ethics M183 · Religious and Spiritual Responsibility M021 · Life, Violence and Peace M314 · Refugee Protection and Asylum M471 · Jewish Mitzvot and Applied Justice M432 · Bodhisattva Ethics M444 · Soto Zen Precept Ethics M607 · Eckankar Spiritual Freedom and Responsibility M285 · Bioethics and Human Dignity
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
Do not discriminate unjustly
Reject unequal treatment based on irrelevant status distinctions.
Do not enable unlawful professional practice
Do not lend credentials, signatures, systems, or authority to unqualified or fraudulent work.
Do not engage in predatory lending
Avoid debt practices that trap vulnerable borrowers.
Do not exploit workers
Avoid coercive, unsafe, degrading, or predatory labor practices.
Do not favor the rich or poor in judgment
Decide cases by relevant facts and law rather than wealth, poverty, status, fear, or sympathy alone.
Do not forcibly assimilate Indigenous peoples
Reject policies intended to erase Indigenous identity, culture, institutions, language, or collective existence.
Do not glorify cruelty
Avoid celebrating suffering, domination, or humiliation.
Do not gossip maliciously
Avoid spreading harmful, unnecessary, or unverified information.
Do not hoard beyond reasonable need
Limit accumulation that deprives others, dominates attention, or exceeds a responsible standard of living.
Do not let prejudice interfere with medical duty
Provide professional care without discrimination based on identity, belief, status, disability, or political affiliation.
Do not lie
Avoid intentional falsehood, fraud, duplicity, and manipulative concealment.
Do not manipulate people deceptively
Avoid exploiting cognitive vulnerabilities through covert persuasion.
Do not manipulate quotations or evidence
Represent sources faithfully and in context.
Do not misuse intoxicants or delusion
Avoid substances, ideologies, and habits that cloud moral awareness or encourage harm.
Do not misuse spiritual leadership
Do not exploit religious authority for control, wealth, sexual access, or personal domination.
Do not misuse the divine name
Treat sacred names and invocations with reverence rather than deception or contempt.
Do not murder
Do not intentionally and unjustly kill a human being.
Do not penalize refugees merely for irregular entry
Recognize that flight from danger may make regular entry procedures impossible.
Do not place a stumbling block before another
Do not exploit another person's ignorance, vulnerability, impairment, or predictable weakness.
Do not praise oneself by disparaging others
Avoid using moral, spiritual, or social status to elevate oneself through contempt for others.
Do not praise oneself by slandering others
Do not build status or moral superiority through disparagement of other people.
Do not pressure others into a spiritual path
Respect each person's freedom to test teachings, follow conscience, or choose a different religious direction.
Do not reduce persons to genetic characteristics
Treat the human genome as relevant information without defining the whole dignity or identity of a person.