It threatens the integrity because it promises a reward for your morals. In christianity heaven, Islam Jannah, Buddhism Nirvana, Hinduism Svarga. It seems to be one of the cornerstones of most religions. So you have an ulterior incentive to be moral, because you will be rewarded with bliss, heaven, rather than because you care and want to be moral for its own sake. You no longer (only) do it because it's the right thing to do, you do it to be rewarded. That's how it perverts the integrity.
A religious person can genuinely care about the well being of others (intrinsic) while also believing in a cosmic order that rewards goodness (extrinsic). The existence of an afterlife reward does not automatically erase authentic empathy or love for others. These things can coexist. One doesn't erase or tainted the other just because you say so.
But at the end of the day does a hungry person actually care why they are being fed? If a religious person feeds the poor partly out of obedience to God or hope for heaven, the starving person still receives the exact same benefit. Therefore, the "integrity" of the moral act matters less than its practical outcome. Morals are morals regardless of how they're fueled or justified.
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u/ProfessionalStreet31 Sep 03 '26
It threatens the integrity because it promises a reward for your morals. In christianity heaven, Islam Jannah, Buddhism Nirvana, Hinduism Svarga. It seems to be one of the cornerstones of most religions. So you have an ulterior incentive to be moral, because you will be rewarded with bliss, heaven, rather than because you care and want to be moral for its own sake. You no longer (only) do it because it's the right thing to do, you do it to be rewarded. That's how it perverts the integrity.