A Bit on Ethics.

Ethics is the process you go through to get to a "morality" (which is the right or wrongness of something).  That is why you have Buddhist ethics and Business ethics.  On the same issue you will get a different "morality."  

Religion (pick one, there are many) can provide a morality, but *you* develop your ethical system. Don't let one person or many determine your Ethics and you will get to a strong moral for you every time. I'm personally a proponent for Aristotle's Virtue Ethics {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue_ethics} (which meshes with my Heathenry) with a dollop of some Utilitarian processes.


Ethics and Morals can be taken from Religion, but they do not have to.  Religion is not monolithic.  Some are themselves (the Abrahamic Judeo/Xtian) but others provide much more situation based ethical systems (like Heathenry).  Or you can use the ethical system you learned in kindergarten or the pretty ruthless one espoused on Wall Street. The thing is *you* determine your ethics and *that* determines the resulting morality. 

Religion in and of itself is not bad, only when it is used badly and for the wrong reasons (other ethical systems coming in) does it produce bad morality.  

Does this make sense?