REL 330/630: COMPARATIVE RELIGIOUS ETHICS FALL 2013, MW, 5:00-6:16 PM, WG 209 INSTRUCTOR: SIMEON O.

ILESANMI

Are human beings capable of creating a good society? Are religious visions of such a society better than non-religious ones? Is there a difference between religious morality and non-religious morality? What is the difference between Dai Lama or Pope Francis and Thomas Jefferson? Is there any difference between them? Do religious people speak the same moral language? What are the advantages and perils of religious pluralism in the effort to construct an ethical vision for society? These are samples of the questions that this course will explore. The course will have two main componentstheoretical and practical. On the theoretical front, the course will acquaint students with certain basic ideas in the comparative study of religious ethics by exploring the questions and assumptions that inform the major approaches to such study. Our method will be to analyze portions of the work of scholars who illustrate these approaches and to ask about the points of view on which they draw. At the practical level, we will examine a number of substantive moral issues that are of concern to the global community, e.g., forms of intolerance and discrimination; peace and nonviolence; status and treatment of women and children; freedom of conscience and religious belief; human rights; environmental responsibilities. The method here will be to critically examine an issue within a particular religious tradition or geographical area.