My Moral Compass: Harm Reduction

As Christians, we were taught our morality depended on our avoidance of “sins”. Sins are considered not only generally harmful, but spiritually harmful as well. This creates a mechanism in which any wrongs committed can be held against someone as evidence of their impurity, lack of faith, or rebellion. Within this mechanism, it becomes very important to be moral and follow the rule of morality, and sometimes this develops into a sense of judgment or misunderstanding towards those who don’t subscribe to the same rule. I know I used to have this same assumption towards non-Christians, and I have since heard many Christians ask how I, or any other non-Christian, can claim to have a sense of morality.

I will admit, when I first left the church I was uncertain how to assess what I considered moral or not. It does take some time to learn the skills necessary to accomplish this. I questioned my stances on premarital sex, euthanasia, abortion, modesty, violent and gory media, curse words, and many other issues. Prior to this time, even if I hadn’t always been sure about the answer given, there had always been some authority providing "the Truth". Without that authority, I wondered how to decide, how to discern what I believed to be right and wrong. But it didn’t take me too long to land on my own answer, and from there I quickly discovered groups of people who shared this sense of morality.

In secular spaces, my moral standard is known as harm reduction. Harm reduction is the practice of identifying where harm is being caused, and taking possible steps, no matter how small or large, to reduce both individual and collective harm being experienced. Effective harm reduction practices take into account the ripple effect of actions taken, and aim to reduce harm long term as well as in the moment. Recently, harm reduction has been adopted in many organizations addressing substance use, risky sexual activity, and addiction. In my life, harm reduction often takes the shape of small actions, such as how I take care of myself and how I interact with others. This harm reduction standard also informs my political perspective, encouraging me to look at the wider picture, and consider the impacts to people and places otherwise outside of my awareness.

In Paganism, my moral code is often phrased “An’ it harm none, do what ye will”. This doesn’t specifically refer to a harm reduction mentality, and some interpret this moral code to mean not causing “active harm”. However, many practitioners including myself take “An’ it harm none” to include passive and unintentional harm, as well as harm caused through ripple effect. Understanding we cannot eliminate all harm we do, we are encouraged to be aware of the impact we have in our lives. This code also specifies personal freedom, “do what ye will”, alongside the mention of not causing harm, which I find particularly important. Under the Christian morality, I was often instructed to avoid “sins” which had nothing to do with inflicting harm to either myself nor others, instead purposefully stifling my personal freedom. Understanding I am permitted to do what I’d like, so long it doesn’t cause harm, is an important aspect of my values.

In Buddhism, a version of this moral code is more detailed. In Thich Nhat Hanh’s book The Mindfulness Survival Kit, he summarizes the Five Mindfulness Trainings, which practiced together help us attain a lifestyle of reducing harm. The first mindfulness training is Reverence for Life. Through reverence for life, we aim to protect all kinds of life, as well as recognize where harm comes from, namely the anger, greed, fear, and intolerance living inside of us. When reducing the anger, greed, fear, and intolerance in ourselves, we have a chance to reduce the same in those we interact with, and cause a ripple effect of harm reduction. The second training, True Happiness, asks us to identify happiness in our present moment and to not take any more than we need. When we live more sustainably, we naturally cause less harm to our environments and communities. The third, True Love, asks us to be honest about our needs and to connect with other people in appropriate and consensual ways. And the fourth, Deep Listening Loving Speech, asks us to practice truly listening and only speaking in love. With these two trainings, we can reduce the harm we cause to our loved ones and in other interpersonal relationships. Finally, the training Nourishment and Healing asks us to reduce the harm we cause to ourselves through our consumption of foods, ideas, passions, and rumination. It is possible to live a more peaceful life by removing or changing what we consume or how we consume it.

When I feel I am trapped or suffering unbearably, harm reduction reminds me there are always small actions I can take to help myself and those close to me. When everything seems to be going right, harm reduction reminds me to consume mindfully and give back gratefully. If I’m feeling overwhelmed about the world's problems, harm reduction reminds me to focus locally, on actions I can realistically participate in. And when highly complex issues arise, personally or on the global scale, harm reduction reminds me to take a step back and the time to understand a situation before choosing how to act. This is how a harm reduction morality works for me.

Harm reduction isn’t perfect and doesn’t provide all the answers. But it offers a helpful framework in which to have discussions and work towards something better in every situation, no matter how bleak or promising. Often there are situations where two or more hurting parties cannot come to an agreement, but harm reduction doesn’t ask for agreement. Harm reduction asks us for our best in the moment and nothing more. If in every moment, we seek to recognize and reduce the harm caused to ourselves, to those we love, to our environment, to our neighbors, and out into the world, a large and positive impact will be made.

[External Links: https://answersingenesis.org/morality/do-secularists-have-foundation-morality/, https://www.wikihow.com/Define-Your-Personal-Values, https://hri.global/what-is-harm-reduction/, https://web.mit.edu/pipa/www/rede.html, https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings]