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'''Moral relativism''' is the theory that moral standards vary from society to society, and from time to time in history. Under this theory, ethical principles are not universal and are instead social products. This theory argues that there is no objective moral order or absolute [[truth]]. Indeed, variability in what is seen as moral is seen throughout history: with the genocide of the Jews by the Nazi Party, the enslavement of the African people by both European and American powers, the persecution (including torture and murder) of Christians during Roman times and in Communist states, as well as the torture, imprisonment, and murder of scientists during the Eighteenth century by the Catholic Church, all justified by the perpetrators in moral terms. For example, Hitler justified his racial policies by saying:

Moral relativism is the theory that moral statements cannot have objective truth; rather, they are true under varying societal conditions. Under this theory, ethical principles are not universal and are instead social products. This theory argues that there is no objective moral order or absolute truth. Relativism is a cognitivist metaethical construct that primarily serves to explain from where moral statements derive their truth.

:''The greatest achievements in intellectual life can never be produced by those of alien race but only by those who are inspired by the Aryan or German spirit. In view of the narrowness of the space within which German intellectual work and German intellectual workers have to live they had a natural moral claim to precedence and preference.'' [http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/statements.htm]

This view was first postulated by twentieth century philosopher Gilbert Harman in his book '''Moral Relativism Defended'''. Harman's central thesis is that "morality arises when a group of people come to a tacit understanding about their relations among each other" and provides the example in terms of moral action that "just as it is wrong to say that a dog is large, period, apart from any comparison class (for example, knowing the size of the average dog), it is wrong to say an action is wrong, period, apart from a similar comparison class such as a society. " Other philosophers have drawn inspiration from Harman's analysis. Most famously, the argument from the Island is a thought experiment that attempts to prove the theory: It imagines an island and a newborn child put on that island. The child is given food and everything it needs to grow up comfortably, but never meets another human, or any other living being, for that matter. The argument says that if that person were to grow up and describe (assume that it learned a language) morality, it would not be able to grasp the concepts of right or wrong. For example, if that person were told that lying is wrong, it would have no way to conceptualize a moral prohibition on lying. The argument concludes that without other people, i.e., a society though which derive standards of moral conduct, morality cannot exist. Put simply, morality cannot exist in a vacuum; normative statements make sense only in relation to other people.

Similarly, the case for slavery was often made in moral terms, with Thomas Dew arguing in 1832 that:

The [[Discovery Institute]] was recently criticized for its poor understanding of the tenets of relativism when it wrote that:

:''With regard to the assertion, that slavery is against the spirit of Christianity, we are ready to admit the general assertion, but deny most positively that there is any thing in the Old or New Testament, which would go to show that slavery, when once introduced, ought at all events to be abrogated, or that the master commits any offence in holding slaves. The children of Israel themselves were slave holders, and were not condemned for it.…When we turn to the New Testament, we find not one single passage at all calculated to disturb the conscience of an honest slave holder.'' [http://www.answers.com/topic/text-of-the-pro-slavery-argument-1832-by-thomas-dew]

Moral relativism was uncritically adopted by much of the social sciences, and it still under girds much of modern economics, political science, psychology and sociology.

In recent times, according to the [[Discovery Institute]]:

Contrary to the Institute's writings, Moral relativism has no connection to any social sciences- it is entirely divorced from the concept of science. Instead, it is a purely philosophical concept that functions to serve as a theory as to why moral statements are true or false.

:''Moral relativism was uncritically adopted by much of the [[social sciences]], and it still under girds much of modern [[economics]], [[political science]], [[psychology]] and [[sociology]].'' [http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/filesDB-download.php?id=349]

Moral relativity is a philosophy that states there is no absolute Right or Wrong, and that anyone can freely use his own conscience to decide what is moral. A moral relativist will not say that [[theft]] or [[murder]] is wrong, because he believes it is up to the murderer or thief to decide whether his behavior is justified.

'''"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."''' (Proverbs 14:12)

Moral relativity and related foolish thinking is what allows liberals to support [[abortion]], [[gay rights]], and [[drug abuse]]. Moral relativity erodes principled [[self-defense]] and thereby leads to misguided demands for [[gun control]] as well as psychiatric problems resulting from a lack of mental self-defense.

Moral relativity is a philosophy that states there is no absolute Right or Wrong, but not that anyone can freely use his own conscience to decide what is moral. Rather, it just says that morality cannot exist without society. Much has been written to debunk this theory and bastardize the concept by attributing it to the core of liberalist beliefs, but moral relativism by its very nature cannot serve to legitimize common liberal causes such as gay rights and abortion. A moral theory such as relativism has no legal nor political agenda. Relativism is among the most misunderstood concepts in modern culture- it is merely an ethical theory, not a political statement.

While the idea of moral relativity exists independently of (and substantially predates) the scientific [[theory of relativity]], moral relativists seized on the theory of relativity to legitimize their views.  Historians such as Paul Johnson wrote about how the theory of relativity caused a sea change, justified or not, in 20th century thought.

A final note: Many pages on this website link to this page in a misguided attempt to draw a link between relativism and other things, such as Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and Gay Rights. The Conservapedia community kindly asks the reader to refer to the paragraph above in order to educate themselves about the true meaning of relativism.

 

According to Ryan Dobson<ref>{{cite book

|page=23-26

|url=http://books.google.no/books?id=yvSEGgAACAAJ&dq=dobson+be+intolerant+in+love&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4hGsT5XKA-mm4gTMqpilCQ&redir_esc=y

|quote=}}</ref> moral relativism is a philosophy that can be abbreviated with word '''TUMOR''':

*'''T'''olerant: Moral relativism represents a hypocritical culture in which the "tolerance" is emphasized even though not honored evenhandedly. Criticism is not welcome except against opponents who dare to show their own independent opinion. 

*'''U'''ntraditional: The culture of moral relativism naively favors everything labeled as "alternative": alternative music, alternative voices, alternative, medicine, alternative life styles. The rebellion against traditional values is promoted, often in form of provoking obscene "cultural" expressions. The favorite topic of modern profane relativists is, for example, a fictional story on relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene such as one by [[Jose Saramago]] in his blaspheme work "''The Gospel According to Jesus Christ''". Another example might be movie "''Million Dollar Baby''" which is compared with Nazi movie "Ich klage an" (I accuse) banned by Allies after [[World War II]] due to its hidden propaganda promoting Nazi program for [[euthanasia]].<ref>{{cite book

*'''M'''arginalized: Moral relativism is a culture that portrays delinquents as "''victims''". The misdeeds of celebrities, athletes, and politicians are quickly forgotten because their sordid behavior is deemed as driven by the unreasonable demands of fame and fortune. For example, supporters of Bill Clinton never wavered after the truth about the Lewinsky affair came out, claiming he was the ''victim'' of a right-wing conspiracy.     

*'''O'''utdoors: Moral relativism is associated with ''radical environmentalism''. Many of the same protagonists who defend a woman's "right" to kill her unborn child would hurl themselves in front of a bulldozer to rescue a nest of spotted owl eggs. 

*'''R'''eprobate: Reprobrate means marked with immorality; deviating from what is considered right or proper or good. The culture of moral relativism has adopted an "''anything goes''" morality, a kind of moral ''whatever-ness''. Individuals are misusing their own rights without respecting the rights of others and often even without sensing they violate them. The typical example is a burglar who broke into private house and sue owners because he slip on their floor.