1. How far are Bentham and Kant’s ethical theories consistent with religious moral decision-making?

2. Is Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism consistent with religious decision-making? NO
It was developed independently of belief in God.
Self-interest is inevitable in Utilitarianism, but Christianity tries to avoid this.
Religion has a spiritual dimension – for Bentham happiness is pointless if it is not quantifiable in earthly society.
Christianity focuses on the poor/weak/oppressed, whereas Bentham does not differentiate
Christianity tends to value rules in decision making (e.g. Natural Law and Divine Command)
In Christianity, a person’s motivation for acting and mental state is important, as God is omniscient, but in Utilitarianism the only important thing is to maximise happiness.

3. Is Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism consistent with religious decision-making? YES
Jesus’ actions are utilitarian because he judges people by how they respond to the needy (remember the context of Bentham’s theory) e.g. parable of sheep and goats
Jesus acts situationally, not prescriptively (e.g. breaking the law of the Sabboth)
John Stuart Mill claimed a direct link between Utilitarianism and Christianity – the Golden Rule is basically the principle of utility.
Bentham recognises religion as part of ‘self-interest’ which is one of the things that govern human beings

4. Is Kant’s ethics consistent with religious decision-making? NO
His system is based on Enlightenment values of reason and autonomy.
Kant says the moral law must be autonomous and not religious for the agent to have a good will
Kant makes no appeal to text/scripture as an ethical authority
Kant’s principle of universalisability can be used in secular ethics, and for someone non-religious you could just ignore the idea of the summun bonum.
The categorical imperative is an unconditional commands – but this nature of command is incompatible with some versions of Christianity (e.g. Situation Ethics)

5. Is Kant’s ethics consistent with religious decision-making? YES
Kant’s concept of the good will is at least compatible with Christian ideas about virtue (freely doing good)
Kant’s emphasis on reason is similar to Aquinas
The ‘end’ of moral decision-making is similar for both Kant and Aquinas – summun bonum/heaven
Two of the three postulates of practical reason are God and the afterlife
Kant’s principle of universalisability seems to mirror the golden rule in Christianity
Kant recognises the intrinsic worth of humans, as do most Christian teachings.