Piety is important. I’m a great believer in piety. I don’t mean religiosity or believing in God, though I am religious and do believe in God. By piety I mean actions which we take whether or not we mean them sincerely, because they are part of values we want to practice. We believe in believing in these things, as it were. These are actions that embody things we want to want, or even want to want to want. And these actions transcend our intentions. It’s more important than however you feel about it.
Of course this kind of action sometimes interacts with religion, sure. Fulfilling your religious obligations throughout times of doubt or unbelief is a pious action. But you can be pious in the sense I mean and not religious at all. Doing a good deed for someone you don’t like, staying faithful to a spouse you don’t love, would be pious actions to me. Respecting death and suffering is piety. Maybe you h…
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