example, the ethics of care, or loyalty to friends, and civic and religious
virtues—that cannot be explained by reference to an authoritative source.
Secondly, the New Advent recognises that although not crimes against the sacred,
there are other moral values associated with religion, including a number of
virtues.
Rules spell out a minimal action—they do not reflect aspirations. No-one is
obliged to become a saint, or to live a life of devotion, even if they are expected
to observe the rules of a religion, and practise, to the extent that they are able,
the virtues. However, they are excused for failing to achieve virtues in a way
that they are not excused for failing to observe rules. Durkheim might still argue
that the virtues, such as good citizenship or devotion, are based on collective
representations of the good, but he cannot argue that the ethics involved in
these collective representations all depend on a rule-bound moral code.