Service to the lwa is a fundamental premise in Vodou and the religion features a moral code that imposes obligations toward the lwa as part of a broader reciprocal relationship with them. A belief in the interdependence of things plays a role in Vodou approaches to ethical issues. For practitioners, virtue is maintained by ensuring that one has a responsible relationship with the lwa. However, it includes no prescriptive code of ethics. Rather, the scholar of religion Claudine Michel suggesting that Vodou offers "no absolutes or generalities, only thematic possibilities for how life ought to be lived." She added that Vodou's cosmology emphasises "uniformity, conformity, group cohesion, and support for one another." Vodou reinforces family ties; respect for the elderly is a key value among Vodouists, with the extended family being of importance in Haitian society.