Moral authority is based on principles which are independent of any written laws. These principles do not change though they are applied differently according to personal circumstances. The moral authority exists and is exercised on a person’s conscience though one is free to choose between what is right and wrong.
Objective moral authority does not depend on what people think but on facts. This authority is highly debatable, and most of the people believe that it does not exist and if it does, it is exercised by God only. An example of a theory supporting the normative approach to moral authority is the deontological theory (Johnson 12). The prescriptive approach of objective moral authority states that the laws of God should tell what is right and what is wrong. For example, it is immoral to kill because one of the Ten Commandments forbids Christians from doing so.
Moral authority is granted through the church or religion. For instance, the Catholic Church has given the pope moral authority to lead the Catholic Church, and so the believers trust what he tells them. Besides, a state offers the leaders moral authority to guide the citizens on what is right or wrong. The citizens trust that the leader and so they believe in what he states to be right or wrong. Moral authority can also be derived from expertise or an appeal to science. When a person is so good at what they do people start to believe in them, and it becomes accepted without any enforcement.
Moral authority can be limited because it is not enforced on anybody and so only those who subscribe to that idea will be subject to that authority. For instance, only those who believe in the existence of God believe in his teachings and follow it while atheists are free of this authority.
Works Cited
Johnson, Robert. "Kant’s moral philosophy." Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy 6 (2008): pg 12-16
