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Welcome to Religious Ethics
Welcome to Religious Ethics.
Every religion teaches people how to live: what to value, how to treat others, what to do when duties conflict. People come to ministers with moral questions at the most important moments of their lives: whether to remove a parent from life support, whether to go to war, how to forgive, how to live justly in an unjust world.
This course compares the moral teachings of the world’s traditions, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, Confucian, Daoist, Indigenous, and humanist, alongside the major schools of philosophical ethics. It looks honestly at the hard questions on which people of good faith disagree, presenting each position as its own holders would. A minister’s task is rarely to hand down answers. It is to help people think clearly, draw on their own deepest values, and decide with integrity.
How This Course Works
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite | None. Titles and degrees begin with ordination through the Ordination Orientation. |
| Pace | Self-paced. Most students finish in four to six weeks, studying about four to five hours a week. There are no deadlines. |
| Structure | Eight modules. Each module has a lesson, a reading assignment, and a ten-question quiz. |
| Book report | Read one of the books offered, pass its ten-question quiz, and write a one-paragraph summary, after Module 8. |
| Final exam | Fifteen multiple-choice questions and one essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words, taken after Module 8. |
| Credit | 3 credit hours toward further titles and degrees. |
Grading
| Part | To pass |
|---|---|
| Module quizzes (8) | Pass each with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report quiz (10 questions) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report summary (one paragraph) | Approved by the school |
| Final exam, Part 1 (multiple choice) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Final exam, Part 2 (one essay, 1,500 to 2,000 words) | Approved by the school |
Required texts
- The Elements of Moral Philosophy, James Rachels and Stuart Rachels
- Ethics in the World Religions, Joseph Runzo and Nancy M. Martin, editors
- Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, Karen Armstrong
Many of these books are available from public libraries, used bookstores, and as ebooks.
What you will study
Module 1: Foundations of Ethics Module 2: Ethics in the Abrahamic Traditions Module 3: Ethics in the Traditions of Asia Module 4: The Golden Rule and a Global Ethic Module 5: Justice, Power, and Society Module 6: War, Peace, and Violence Module 7: Life, Death, and Bioethics Module 8: The Earth, the Future, and Ethical Ministry
Book report choices
Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, Karen Armstrong; The Elements of Moral Philosophy, James Rachels and Stuart Rachels
Academic honesty
All written work must be your own. You may quote and discuss the course readings and other sources, but you must say where the words and ideas came from. Submitting work written by someone else, including work generated entirely by AI tools, is not permitted.