Christian Ethics
Introduction to Christian Ethics is a core course that explores the major sources, methods, and insights of Christian social and theological ethics. Particular attention is given to Roman Catholic thought. The course will concentrate on the foundational sources in Christian ethics and examine the moral significance of major theological themes and affirmations.
Outcomes: Students will identify the major sources of Christian ethics (Scripture, Church tradition, philosophy, the social and human sciences, and human experience), and gain practice in identifying how different thinkers use, interpret, and prioritize these sources.
Introduction to Christian Ethics is a core course that explores the major sources, methods, and insights of Christian social and theological ethics. Particular attention is given to Roman Catholic thought. The course will concentrate on the foundational sources in Christian ethics and examine the moral significance of major theological themes and affirmations.
Outcomes: Students will identify the major sources of Christian ethics (Scripture, Church tradition, philosophy, the social and human sciences, and human experience), and gain practice in identifying how different thinkers use, interpret, and prioritize these sources.
This core ethics course will introduce students to basic methods & sources of Christian ethics and apply them to key ethical issues facing us in 2024, e.g: Structural Racism; Climate Change; Socio-Economic & Racial-Ethnic Inequalities in U.S. Health & Healthcare.
Students will be introduced to central Christian theo-ethical concepts such as: respect for persons, virtue ethics, natural law, liberation theology and solidarity. Students will get an initial sense of the varied (sometimes conflicting) ways in which Christians draw upon their faith tradition for ethical guidance. We will consider both Protestant and Roman Catholic thinkers, but the greater emphasis is on the Roman Catholic tradition.
All/No Religious Backgrounds Welcome! Professing a Christian faith is not a requirement of this class. If you were raised (or participate) in another religious tradition, or no religious tradition at all, your insights are absolutely welcome! Sometimes a view from outside a tradition can see more clearly than a view from inside it.
Whether or not you identify with Christianity, I hope this course helps you see the diversity of ways in which Christians draw upon their/our faith tradition to come to (often very different) conclusions about how they/we, as Christians, should live and act in the world. Since theo-ethical values/norms/ideals inform (& are used to justify) many personal, public (often political) views, actions and policies in the U.S., it's important to be able to unpack and critically reflect upon them. Doing this will, I hope, will help you clarify your own ethical views, and help all of us (regardless of faith) critically assess claims that certain values or activities are Christian.
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