God, Moral Judgment, and the Death Penalty

In a fascinating new look at capital punishment, Professor Walter Berns of Georgetown University argues that support of the death penalty is tied to belief in God. He documents the link between secularization and declining support for capital punishment. On today’s show, Dr. says Professor Berns’ argument is even larger than the death penalty in its application. The absence of God — and thus the absence of a transcendent standard of judgment and morality — inevitably weakens all moral judgment.