ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the issue of cultural and ethical relativism as it relates to morality and justice. The role played by different cultures and religions is one of the most important problems to confront when assessing the proper state of global ethics and justice. Many people consider religion to be a part of culture. Religion has a place in culture as both a source of truth and a social means for applying such truth to the community. The chapter details the claims of religion and how they bear on morality and justice. Under the form of cultural relativism the practices in question are either moral obligations or moral permissions. Moral relativism is often a feature of the normative theories depicted as moral antirealism. The antirealist is committed to some variety of moral relativism. The chapter concludes with a brief examination of a clear clash of Eastern and Western cultures on the issue of human rights.
