From an ethical standpoint every culture has a different set of ethics. What would seem unethical to one would be perfectly normal for another. To have ones hand cut of for thievery might seem unethical to us, or to stone a woman for having sex before marriage. To the cultures these punishments come from they are accepted as the norm.
So my question is this; Are ethics purley driven by religion? or can we attribute ethics purley on a moral basis for all of mankind regardless of religion?
Ethical systems are offshoots of morality meant to hold a society together, (for better or for worse.)
But ethics are differant from morality itself, which is based, at the most fundemental level, on a recognition in others of the same humanity we see in ourselves. Unfortunatly, the ethics that grow from this base often get mixed up in other things (especially fear) that end up perverting this recognition.
Relegion can certainly be an agent of ethics, but it’s not necessary.