Is morality an absolute?
The truth or falsity of moral judgments, or their justification, is not absolute or universal, but is relative to the traditions, convictions, or practices of a group of persons.
Moral absolutism is an ethical view that some (potentially all) actions are intrinsically right or wrong. Stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done for the well-being of others (e.g., stealing food to feed a starving family), and even if it does in the end promote such a good.
Normative ethical relativism theory says that the moral rightness and wrongness of actions varies from society to society and that there are no absolute universal moral standards binding on all men at all times. The theory claims that all thinking about the basic principles of morality (Ethics) is always relative.
Moral absolutism is an ethical belief which views specific actions as entirely wrong or right regardless of the outcome. An example is a murder, which is always considered as morally wrong even if it was done in self-defense or for protection.
Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of one's culture. That is, whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another.
Moral Absolutism has been favored historically largely because it makes the creation of laws and the upholding of the judicial system much simpler, and manifested itself in outdated concepts such as the Divine Right of Kings.
A relative code of ethics would be a code which recognized the truth of the aphorism "circumstances alter cases." An absolute code of ethics would stand (as a standard) no matter whether anyone accepted it or not, and would be thought of in terms of being unaffected by any change of circumstances.
Christians believe that morality is objective and absolute because the bible & teachings of Jesus Christ guide us in living ethically sound lives. It is also believed that humans universally know right from wrong and are made in God's image and also capable of living good lives.
Definitions of the difference between objective and absolute morality tend to commit a comparison error. For instance: "Objective morality might state that killing for fun is wrong, whereas absolute morality states killing is always wrong". The error lies in the fact that like is not being compared with like.
Cultures are very different as described by James Rachels in “Morality Is Not Relative”. Cultural Relativism means that there are no set moral codes due to the fact that distinct cultures have distinct ideas when it comes to morals.