compatibility of utilitarianism and christianity

STRENGTH: shared concern for human wellbeing

• Both utilitarianism and Christianity place human wellbeing and moral concern for others at the heart of their ethics.

• Jesus’ commandment to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) aligns with classical utilitarianism’s goal of promoting the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

• Joseph Fletcher, founder of Situation Ethics, explicitly noted that agape (unconditional love) is concerned with maximizing good outcomes for people in context-sensitive ways, mirroring act utilitarianism in its flexibility and human-centred approach

• Christian social teaching often supports public policy that reduces suffering and increases welfare, such as poverty alleviation or healthcare reform. This overlaps with utilitarian public ethics, especially as seen in thinkers like Peter Singer, who apply utilitarian reasoning to global charity and poverty

COUNTER to shared concern

• Christian agape love differs qualitatively from utilitarian happiness.

• According to William Lane Craig, agape is rooted in divine command, not in outcomes.

• Christian ethics is deontological, meaning actions are inherently right or wrong according to God's law, not simply judged by their consequences.

• Utilitarianism, by contrast, allows morally troubling exceptions in pursuit of overall happiness—such as justifying lying, euthanasia, or abortion if the net happiness is increased.

• Christianity traditionally rejects such actions, even if they lead to good outcomes, because they violate moral absolutes.

• For example, Pope John Paul II condemned all forms of direct euthanasia regardless of consequence, showing the fundamental incompatibility with utilitarian pragmatism.

WEAKNESS: incompatible with NML

• Natural Moral Law (NML), rooted in Aquinas, maintains that moral actions conform to the rational order established by God.

• The primary precepts—such as preserving life, reproduction, and worshipping God—are immutable and must be followed regardless of consequences.

• Utilitarianism is teleological and relativistic, judging morality purely by outcomes, often in direct conflict with NML.

• Elizabeth Anscombe, a Catholic philosopher, argued that utilitarianism encourages an "ends justify the means" mentality, undermining moral absolutes.

• For example, sacrificing one innocent life to save five contradicts the NML principle that one must never intentionally harm an innocent person, even for a greater good.

COUNTER to NML

• Defenders of compatibility argue that proportionalism, a modern development from NML by scholars such as Bernard Hoose, offers a bridge.

• Proportionalism permits overriding a moral rule if the proportionate reason (e.g. preventing immense suffering) is serious enough.

• This allows Catholic thinkers to consider consequences, bringing them closer to rule utilitarianism—where rules are followed because they generally produce good consequences.

• although classical NML seems rigid, modern Christian ethics has become more consequence-aware, increasing potential compatibility with utilitarian reasoning.

STRENGTH: rule utilitarianism

• Rule utilitarianism, as defended by Brad Hooker, holds that moral rules should be followed because they generally produce the greatest happiness.

• This approach aligns well with Christian ethical rules such as the Ten Commandments or Christ’s teachings in the Sermon on the Mount (e.g. do not murder, do not steal, show mercy), which promote social harmony and personal flourishing.

• Many of these commandments promote long-term wellbeing, such as fidelity in marriage and caring for the poor. In this sense, Christianity and rule utilitarianism may converge in practice: both encourage moral habits and principles that benefit the community.

• similarly, in both NML + RU. rules can be broken if needed (DoDE)

COUNTER to rule

• Despite surface similarities, rule utilitarianism lacks the theological foundation of Christian ethics.

• Christian rules are derived from divine authority, not human calculation of utility. Alasdair MacIntyre, in After Virtue, critiques utilitarianism for being too procedural and disconnected from the teleological, virtue-based character of Christian life.