How to become moral (or not)

The question of the genesis of moral behaviour/morality is a problem which requires clarification. In all (Western) societies today, serious discussions are now taking place about the shift In, and loss of, moral values, the opportunities and dangers that such discussions present, and the necessity of either reviving old moral values or searching for a new morality.

At the same time, from a scientific perspective moral behaviour and value commitments clearly do not arise from free search or choice. However, we experience the feeling of "l can do no other" which accompanies a strong commitment to a (religious) concept of morality, not as restriction, but as the highest expression of our free will. What is the resulting experience of this apparently paradoxical feeling of an unchangeable, and yet voluntary, commitment to values/moral behaviour?

This question interrogates the core of plural and democratic societies and their need for a common set of moral values. How can teaching/religious education provide resources to positively value and maintain moral diversity within societies?