Religious Ethics and the Ecological Crisis
Session
Regular Academic Session
Class Number
2467
Career
Undergraduate
Units
3 units
Grading
Graded Alpha
Description
Prerequisites: THEO 100, THEO 107, or equivalent; please check requirements for declared majors/minors for exceptions.

Advances in technology and industry confront us with unprecedented abilities for altering long standing climate patterns. These capacities challenge many traditional religious and ethical assumptions about humanity and our relationship to the nonhuman world. We will examine the resources that religious traditions of the world offer for promoting ecological responsibility.

Outcomes: students will be able to:*Summarize relevant history related to scientific, policy & political data and decisions *Describe central scientific and ethical challenges posed by the climate crisis *Relate key ideas, traditions, & practices in Christian theological, philosophical, and other religious thought that may help address this crisis
Class Attributes
Tier 2 Theological Knowledge
Bioethics
Catholic Studies
Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies
Class Notes
This course explores integral responses to environmental problems from the standpoints of three world religions. An integral response is observant (scientific), moral (ethical), meaningful (spiritual), and practical (operational) because human life itself is a moral and meaningful journey of sensory observation and practical experience. An integral response to contemporary environmental problems is a fully human response. In this course, specific attention focuses on models of integral living that engage the contemporary ecological crisis from the standpoints of three different religions: Potawatomi (Native American) religion, Buddhism (Pure Land), and Roman Catholicism (Christian). Three contemporary writers from each of these religious traditions are studied: Robin Kimmerer (Potawatomi), Thich Nhat Hanh (Buddhism), and Pope Francis (Roman Catholicism). Their responses to the contemporary ecological crisis--and the religions they represent--are a rich resource for all human beings, whether members of a religion or not.
Class Actions
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Class Details
Instructor(s)
Michael Schuck
Meets
Mo 4:15PM - 6:45PM
Dates
08/25/2025 - 12/13/2025
Room
Cuneo Hall - Room 104
Instruction Mode
In person
Campus
Lake Shore Campus
Location
Lake Shore Campus
Components
Lecture Required
Class Availability
Status
Wait List
Seats Taken
34
Seats Open
0
Class Capacity
34
Wait List Total
2
Wait List Capacity
10