In accordance with Catholic ethical and religious directives, abortions and sterilizations will no longer be performed.

Joseph Zwilling, Cardinal Egan's spokesman, said the cardinal's obligation concerned whether the hospital's activities conformed to the church's ethical and religious directives.

In the view of many other Muslim scholars elsewhere, this is a reflection of conservative Arab traditions rather than religious directives.

More than a century after it was outlawed, polygamy is flourishing in Utah and small pockets of the American West, nurtured by religious directives and the hands-off stance of legal authorities.

Jains often follow religious directives to observe vegetarianism.

Cases can also be seen in nature of animals exhibiting behavior we might classify as "moral" without religious directives to guide them.

And, yes, the Supermob's Jewishness was a factor in their prosperity - far from the aspersion Cohen imagines, it is actually a compliment to their drive and education (a religious directive that set them apart) that those who chose the wayward path became the most successful gangsters of the century.

"It's an imposition on the doctors because they will always have to be watching their backs to make sure they don't get caught violating the religious directives," she said.