Righteousness is the quality or state of "being morally right or justifiable" rooted in

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

or divine law with a broader spectrum of moral correctness,

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

, and virtuous living as dictated by a higher authority or set of spiritual beliefs. Rectitude, often a synonym for righteousness, is about personal moral values and the internal compass that guides an individual’s decisions and actions. It can be found in

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

, and

Abrahamic The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

religions and traditions, among others, as a

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

. For example, from various perspectives in

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

, and

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. It is an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified, and can have the connotation that the person has been "judged" as living a moral life, relative to the religion’s doctrines.

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – October 1536) was an English Biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestantism, Protestant Reformation in the year ...

( translator of the Bible into English in 1526) remodeled the word after an earlier word , which would have yielded

modern English Modern English, sometimes called New English (NE) or present-day English (PDE) as opposed to Middle and Old English, is the form of the English language that has been spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England England is a Count ...

*''rightwise'' or *''rightways''. He used it to translate the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

root , which appears over five hundred times in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word (), which appears more than two hundred times in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. Etymologically, it comes from Old English , from 'right' + 'manner, state, condition' (as opposed to , "wrongful"). The change in the ending of the word in the

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

was due to association with words such as bounteous.

Ethics or moral philosophy

Ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

is a major branch of philosophy that encompasses principles leading to right conduct.

Rushworth Kidder Rushworth Moulton Kidder (May 8, 1944 – March 5, 2012) was an American author, ethicist, and professor. Kidder founded the Institute for Global Ethics in 1990, and is the author of ''Moral Courage'' and ''How Good People Make Tough Choices: Reso ...

states that "standard definitions of ethics have typically included such phrases as 'the science of the ideal human character' or 'the science of moral duty'". Richard William Paul and Linda Elder define ethics as "a set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behavior helps or harms sentient creatures". The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy states that the word

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

is "commonly used interchangeably with 'morality' ... and sometimes it is used more narrowly to mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group or individual".

Abrahamic and Abrahamic-inspired religions

Christianity

In the New Testament, the word ''righteousness'', a translation for the Greek word , is used in the sense of 'being righteous before others' (e.g. Matthew 5:20) or 'being righteous before God' (e.g. Romans 1:17). William Lane Craig argues that we should think of God in Christianity, God as the "paradigm, the locus, the source of all moral value and standards". In Matthew's account of the Baptism of Jesus, Jesus tells John the Baptist, "it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" as Jesus requests that John perform the rite for him. The Sermon on the Mount contains the memorable commandment "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness". A secondary meaning of the Greek word is 'justice', which is used to render it in a few places by a few Bible translations, e.g. in Matthew 6:33 in the New English Bible. Jesus asserts the importance of righteousness by saying in Matthew 5:20, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven". Paul the Apostle speaks of dual-covenant theology, two ways, at least in theory, to achieve righteousness: through the Law of Moses (or Torah), and through faith in the Atonement in Christianity, atonement made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (). However, he repeatedly emphasizes that faith is the effective way. For example, a few verses earlier, he states the Jews did not attain the law of righteousness because they sought it not by faith, but by works. The New Testament speaks of a salvation founded on God's righteousness, as exemplified throughout the history of salvation narrated in the Old Testament (). Paul writes to the Romans that righteousness comes by faith: "... a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith'" (). In the New Revised Standard Version has a footnote that the original word has the meaning of 'benevolence', and the Messianic Jewish commentary of David Stern affirms the Jewish practice of 'doing ' as a charity, in referring to the and passages. speaks of the relationship between works of righteousness and faith, saying that "faith without works is dead". Righteous acts according to James include Good works, works of charity () as well as avoiding Christian views on sin, sins against the Law of Moses (). describes Lot (biblical person), Lot as a righteous man.

Type of saints

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, "Righteous" is a List of Eastern Orthodox saint titles, type of saint who is regarded as a holy person under the Old Covenant (Old Testament Israel). The word is also sometimes used for married saints of the New Covenant (the Church). According to Orthodox theology, the Righteous saints of the Old Covenant were not able to enter into heaven until after the death of Jesus on the Crucifixion of Jesus, cross (), but had to await salvation in the Bosom of Abraham (see: Harrowing of Hell).

Islam

Righteousness is mentioned several times in the Quran. The Quran says that a life of righteousness is the only way to go to Heaven.

Judaism

Righteousness is one of the chief God#Specific attributes, attributes of God as portrayed in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Mandaeism

An early self-appellation for Mandaeans is meaning 'elect of righteousness' or 'the chosen righteous', a term found in the Book of Enoch and Genesis Apocryphon II, 4. In addition to righteousness, also refers to alms or almsgiving.

East Asian religions

Yi (Confucianism)

, (), literally "

, or justness, righteousness or rightness, meaning (non-linguistic), meaning", is an important concept in Confucianism. It involves a moral disposition for the good in life, with the sustainable intuition, purpose, and sensibility to do good competently with no expectation of reward. resonates with Confucian philosophy's orientation towards the cultivation of Reverence (emotion), reverence or Ren (philosophy), benevolence () and skillful practice (). represents moral acumen that goes beyond simple rule-following, as it is based on empathy, it involves a balanced understanding of a situation, and it incorporates the "creative insights" and grounding necessary to apply virtues through deduction (Yin and yang, Yin and Yang) and reason "with no loss of purpose and direction for the total good of fidelity. represents this ideal of totality as well as a decision-generating ability to apply a virtue properly and appropriately in a situation." In application, is a "complex principle" that includes: # skill in crafting actions which have moral fitness according to a given concrete situation # the wise recognition of such fitness # the intrinsic satisfaction that comes from that recognition.

Indian religions

There might not be a Untranslatability, single-word translation for in English, but it can be translated as righteousness, religion, faith, duty, law, and virtue. Connotations of include rightness, good, natural, morality, righteousness, and virtue. In common parlance, means 'right way of living' and 'path of rightness'. It encompasses ideas such as duty, rights, character, vocation, religion, customs and all behavior considered appropriate, correct or "morally upright". It is explained as a law of righteousness and equated to (truth): "...when a man speaks the Truth, they say, 'He speaks the Dharma'; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, 'He speaks the Truth!' For both are one" Flag of India

The importance of to Indian sentiments is illustrated by the government of India's decision in 1947 to include the Ashoka Chakra, a depiction of the ( the "wheel of dharma"), as the central motif on its flag.

Hinduism

In Hindu philosophy and Hinduism, religion, major emphasis is placed on individual practical morality. In the Sanskrit epics, this concern is omnipresent. Including duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues, and "right way of living". The Sanskrit epics contain themes and examples where right prevails over wrong, good over evil. In an inscription attributed to the Indian Emperor Ashoka from , in Sanskrit, Aramaic, and Greek text, appears a Greek rendering for the Sanskrit word : the word This suggests was a central concept in India at that time, and meant not only religious ideas, but ideas of right, of good, and of one's duty. The ''Ramayana'' is one of the two great Indian epics. It tells about life in India around and offers models in . The hero, Rama, lived his whole life by the rules of ; this is why he is considered heroic. When Rama was a young boy, he was the perfect son. Later, he was an ideal husband to his faithful wife, Sita, and a responsible ruler of Aydohya. Each episode of Ramayana presents life situations and ethical questions in symbolic terms. The situation is debated by the characters, and finally, right prevails over wrong, good over evil. For this reason, in Hindu Epics, the good, morally upright, law-abiding king is referred to as . In ''Mahabharata'', the other major Indian epic, similarly, is central, and it is presented with symbolism and metaphors. Near the end of the epic, the god Yama, referred to as in the text, is portrayed as taking the form of a dog to test the compassion of Yudhishthira, who is told he may not enter paradise with such an animal, but who refuses to abandon his companion, for which decision he is then praised by . The value and appeal of the ''Mahabharata'' is not as much in its complex and rushed presentation of metaphysics in the 12th book, claims Daniel H. H. Ingalls Sr., Daniel H.H. Ingalls, because Indian metaphysics is more eloquently presented in other Sanskrit scriptures. The appeal of Mahabharata, like Ramayana, is in its presentation of a series of moral problems and life situations, to which there are usually three answers given, according to Ingalls: one answer is of Bhima, which is the answer of brute force, an individual angle representing materialism, egoism, and self; the second answer is of Yudhishthira, which is always an appeal to piety and gods, of social virtue and tradition; the third answer is of introspective Arjuna, which falls between the two extremes, and who, claims Ingalls, symbolically reveals the finest moral qualities of man. The Epics of Hinduism are a symbolic treatise about life, virtues, customs, morals, ethics, law, and other aspects of dharma. There is extensive discussion of at the individual level in the Epics of Hinduism, observes Ingalls; for example, on free will versus destiny, when and why human beings believe in either, ultimately concluding that the strong and prosperous naturally uphold free will, while those facing grief or frustration naturally lean towards destiny. The Epics of Hinduism illustrate various aspects of , they are a means of communicating with metaphors. In

, signifies behaviors that are considered to be in accord with , the order that makes life and universe possible, and includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues, and "right way of living". The concept of was already in use in the historical Vedic religion, and its meaning and conceptual scope have evolved over several millennia.

Secular

The ancient Tamil language, Tamil moral text of ''Tirukkural'' is solely based on , the Tamil term for . The antonym of is .

Buddhism

In Buddhism, means cosmic law and order, but is also applied to the teachings of the Buddha. In Buddhist philosophy, / is also the term for "phenomena". Dharma refers not only to the sayings of the Buddha, but also to the later traditions of interpretation and addition that the various schools of Buddhism have developed to help explain and to expand upon the Buddha's teachings. For others still, they see the as referring to the "truth", or the ultimate reality of "the way that things really are" ().

Jainism

Tattvartha Sutra mentions with the meaning of "righteous". These are forbearance, modesty, straightforwardness, purity, truthfulness, self-restraint, austerity, renunciation, non-attachment, and celibacy.

Sikhism

For Sikhs, the word means the path of righteousness and proper religious practice. For Sikhs, the word (Punjabi language, Punjabi: , ) means the path of righteousness and proper religious practice. Guru Granth Sahib in hymn 1353 connotes as duty. The 3HO movement in Western culture, which has incorporated certain Sikh beliefs, defines Sikh broadly as all that constitutes religion, moral duty, and way of life.

Persian religions

Zoroastrianism

, is an important tenet of the Zoroastrian religion with a complex and nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right(eousness)', 'order' and 'right working'. From an early age, Zoroastrians are taught to pursue righteousness by following the Threefold Path of : , , (Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds). One of the most sacred mantras in the religion is the Ashem Vohu, which has been translated as an "Ode to Righteousness". There are many translations, that differ due to the complexity of Avestan and the concepts involved (for other translations, see: Ashem Vohu). "Righteousness is the best good and it is happiness. Happiness is to her/him who is righteous, for the sake of the best righteousness".

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Attributes of God in Christian theology Religious ethics Concepts in ethics Good and evil Virtue