Theological Ethics

"Who is the good person?" is an ethical question founded on the premise that being a Christian makes one a certain type of person with certain values. This course offers a historical study of various philosophical and theological descriptions of the nature of the good person.

Analysis of several contemporary Catholic ethicists, including Curran, O'Connell, Regan, and McCormick, who have influenced the development of Catholic ethics. A critical examination of natural law, human freedom, conscience, authority, and the moral and rational capacity.

Contemporary American Christian thought on the nature of morality and society. An attempt to reveal the dynamics of faith that calls us to do justice. Special consideration given to the development of pacifism in American churches.

This course is an introduction to the theological ethics of character as encountered in the Christian tradition. We will systematically consider the topic through a series of guided discussions about values, decisions, conscience, habits, virtues and vices, the role of Christian narrative, and finally, an integrated theory and theology of Christian personal character. Readings will include selections from writings by Richard Gula, Paul J. Waddell, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, James Keenan, Stanley Hauerwas, James Gustafson, and the Gospel of Luke.

The issues of justice from a Catholic perspective as they affect society locally, nationally, and internationally.

Inquiry into the theological, philosophical, psychological, and social aspects of Christian marriage with specific emphasis on commitment and the bond of love. The moral problems of abortion, divorce, and homosexuality, special to the modern context, will be discussed.

This course explores the human experience of suffering, loss, and grief from the perspective of practical theology, incorporating multi-disciplinary and inter-religious learnings and insights. It seeks to help students understand suffering and prepare them to encounter loss and grief in their personal and professional lives.

Drawing from the Christian/Catholic tradition and from other ethical perspectives, the course addresses the moral dilemmas of abortion, artificial reproductive technologies, genetic technology, organ transplants, physician-assisted suicide, and issues of death and dying with the end goal of forming students as intelligent and critical interlocutors of bio-ethical issues.

Environmental Justice addresses issues of climate crisis, water justice, environmental racism, human rights, earth solidarity, and earth rights, in a global/cosmic context, in the light of Catholic social teaching and the ecological ethics of Buddhism, Hinduism, and American Indians. Using the paradigm of vision, norm, and choice, the course addresses concrete issues of environmental justice as presented in selected case studies.  

Sexual Ethics begins with a study of the historic evolution of sexual teachings to provide a context to current ethical debates on sexual issues. The course presents diverse perspectives on these issues for critical study, discourse, and discernment.

This course takes as a starting point gender violence as a phenomenon across cultures around the globe. With the main premise that gender violence is linked  gender inequity, it studies this inequity's roots in patriarchal traditions, cultural practices, and religious beliefs. It ends with the study of gender resistance through feminist theo-religious reconstruction and liberative activism.

Explores contemporary Christian and Jewish theological reflections on the Nazi genocide campaign to eliminate the Jews of Europe. Special emphasis on the documents of the churches until now, on the Austrian and German efforts to cope with this part of recent history, and on the relation of early anti-Judaism in Christian cultures to racism and anti-Semitism.

This course explores gender and sexuality vis-a-vis Christian tradition, covering Biblical literature, developmentof doctrine, and contemporary theologies, incorporating perspectives from feminist theory, critical race theory,and the sciences. We will discuss the tradition's wisdom, its limitations, and potential innovations in relation totopics such as marriage, singleness, the Catholic sex abuse crisis, rape culture, and queer identities.