What is Moral Decay in Religion?

Answer 1

I think that this question can be answered in two ways. One is the moral decay of a, individual religious person. One who rejects that which one had to go the way of the world and adopt its ways. Or where the Religion itself with all of its members turn away from their beliefs and go the way of the world moral decay takes over.

The second is the religions view of the moral decay of the world in general as apposed to its own righteous beliefs and righteous actions.

Answer 2

to put it very simply, religion has led to moral decay by celebrating logical self-contradiction and circular reasoning. It has allowed the mere expression of faith to be more significant than actual moral practices. It allows people to seem sane when they talk about their 'conversations with God'. It allows a chosen book's antiquated and sometimes stunningly cruel myths (or histories) to be taken literally by some religions and encourage people to hurt each other in a way that, to the impartial or outside observer, is clearly and unequivocally immoral. There is more, and I'm sure there are quite a few philosophy writings on the subject.

But, alas, this question assumes that there is a natural, universal morality that persists aside from all teachings. That is not necessarily the case, and, as such, there is cause to think that 'moral relativism'-- rather than being a pejorative term associated with amoral behavior--is a true state of affairs that always has been, and always will be, a part the human condition, caused by the naturally differing perceptions and experiences of human beings (or sufficiently similar alien life, if it exists) causing each person's morality, internally and unverifiably, to differ relative to those differences.