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Moral Rationalism and Shari'a: Independent rationality in modern Shi'i usul al-Fiqh (Culture and Civilization in the Middle East)
by Ali-Reza BhojaniMoral Rationalism and Sharī'a is the first attempt at outlining the scope for a theological reading of Sharī'a, based on a critical examination of why 'Adliyya theological ethics have not significantly impacted Shī'ī readings of Sharī'a. Within Shī'ī works of Sharī 'a legal theory (usūl al-fiqh) there is a theoretical space for reason as an independent source of normativity alongside the Qur’ān and the Prophetic tradition. The position holds that humans are capable of understanding moral values independently of revelation. Describing themselves as 'Adliyya (literally the people of Justice), this allows the Shī 'a, who describe themselves as 'Adiliyya (literally, the People of Justice), to attribute a substantive rational conception of justice to God, both in terms of His actions and His regulative instructions. Despite the Shī'ī adoption of this moral rationalism, independent judgments of rational morality play little or no role in the actual inference of Sharī 'a norms within mainstream contemporary Shī'ī thought. Through a close examination of the notion of independent rationality as a source in modern Shī'ī usūl al-fiqh, the obstacles preventing this moral rationalism from impacting the understanding of Sharī 'a are shown to be purely epistemic. In line with the ‘emic’ (insider) approach adopted, these epistemic obstacles are revisited identifying the scope for allowing a reading of Sharī'a that is consistent with the fundamental moral rationalism of Shī'ī thought. It is argued that judgments of rational morality, even when not definitively certain, cannot be ignored in the face of the apparent meaning of texts that are themselves also not certain. An 'Adliyya reading of Sharī'a demands that the strength of independent rational evidence be reconciled against the strength of any other apparently conflicting evidence, such that independent judgments of rational morality act as a condition for the validity of precepts attributed to a just and moral God.
Moral Reasoning Vol 2 (Studies In Ethics And The Philosophy Of Religion)
by R. W. BeardsmoreFirst published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Moral Struggle and Religious Ethics
by David A. ClairmontMoral Struggle and Religious Ethics offers a comparative discussion of the challenges of living a moral religious life. This is illustrated with a study of two key thinkers, Bonaventure and Buddhaghosa, who influenced the development of moral thinking in Christianity and Buddhism respectively.Provides an important and original contribution to the comparative study and practice of religious ethicsMoves away from a comparison of theories by discussing the shared human problem of moral weaknessOffers an fresh approach with a comparison of the understanding of the problem of moral weakness between the two key thinkers, Bonaventure and BuddhaghosaWritten by a highly respected academic in the dynamic and fast-growing field of comparative religious ethics
Moral Theory in Santideva's Siksasamuccaya: Cultivating the Fruits of Virtue (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)
by Barbra R. ClaytonThis important text analyzes the moral theory of the seventh century Indian Mahayana master, Santideva, author of the well-known religious poem, the Bodhicaryavatara (Entering the Path of Enlightenment) as well as the significant, but relatively overlooked, Siksasamuccaya (Compendium of Teachings). With particular focus on the Siksasamuccaya, this book uses original translations and critical analysis in order to answer the question: How would Santideva’s ethics be understood in terms of Western moral theory? Santideva’s ethical presuppositions and moral reasoning are illuminated by analyzing his key moral terms and comparing them to other Buddhist principles. By focusing on a neglected Buddhist Sanskrit text by a major Mahayana figure, Barbra R. Clayton helps to redress a significant imbalance in the scholarship on Buddhist ethics, which has - up to now - focused primarily on the ethics of the Pali literature as interpreted in the Theravada tradition.
Moral Vision: Leadership from George Washington to Joe Biden
by Marvin OlaskyWhat makes a leader truly great? Is it simply a matter of management style and personality? Or is it character that matters most? Moral Visions takes an insightful look into America&’s leaders of the past to answer these questions and demonstrates that values and moral convictions are critical to the strength of a nation.Supposedly, we learn about the candidates for the highest office through a series of tests called &“debates,&” which are instead an exchange of soundbites. We can&’t know whether an aspirant to the presidency has the ability to ask good questions or only a suave or belligerent ability to answer them. Moral Vision is a human-interest introduction to American history through studies of nineteen leaders: presidents, almost presidents, a tycoon, a crusading journalist, and even a leading 19th century abortionist. Its lessons can help voters sort through the candidates in 2024 and beyond by measuring them against previous leaders—none of whom was faultless. It shows how the deepest views often grow out of religious belief and influence political goals, racial prejudices, sexual activities, uses of power, and senses of service. In his 1789 inaugural address, George Washington pledged that &“the foundation for national policy will be laid in the sure and immutable principles of private morality.&” Marvin Olasky shows how 19th-century leaders like Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Grover Cleveland partly upheld and partly ignored that promise, and 20th-century leaders like Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton tried to &“compartmentalize&” the private and the public. An extensively updated version of The American Leadership Tradition, Moral Vision is for anyone tired of today&’s textbook tendencies to submerge the role of individuals as big economic and demographic waves roll in. History is more than statistics, economics, and group identities. Human beings are more than paper boats riding the rainfall into gutters.
Moral Wisdom: Lessons and Texts from the Catholic Tradition
by James F. Keenan SjThis book introduces readers to moral theory through a Catholic lens. In a warm, conversational style, Father Keenan shares a wealth of stories and examples to highlight the resources in the Catholic tradition for developing moral wisdom. Connecting formative influences of the Catholic heritage with themes of love, consciences, sin, and suffering, the book helps readers appreciate what gives meaning to our lives. The third edition has been revised throughout to help the reader better understand how to develop and apply moral wisdom in real life. It features additional examples, as well as new material on the teachings of Pope Francis. Chapters on the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus have been re-worked in light of new scholarship. The book also features a new final chapter, Moral Agency, which addresses making practical decisions based on the lessons and texts from the book. Each chapter includes study questions to help readers further reflect on key themes.
Moral and Spiritual Leadership in an Age of Plural Moralities (Studies in World Christianity and Interreligious Relations)
by Ina Ter Avest Hans AlmaIn crisis situations, such as terror attacks or societal tensions caused by migration, people tend to look for explicit moral and spiritual leadership and are often inclined to vote for so-called 'strong leaders'. Is there a way to resist the temptation of the simplistic solutions that these ‘strong leader’ offer, and instead encourage constructive engagement with the complex demands of our times? This volume utilises relational and dialogical perspectives to examine and address many of the issues surrounding the moral and spiritual guidance articulated in globalizing Western societies. The essays in this collection focus on the concept of plural moralities, understood as divergent visions on what is a 'good life', both in an ethical, aesthetical, existential, and spiritual sense. They explore the political-cultural context and consequences of plural moralities as well as discussing challenges, possibilities, risks, and dangers from the perspective of two promising relational theories: social constructionism and dialogical self theory. The overarching argument is that it is possible to constructively put in nuanced moral and spiritual guidance into complex, plural societies. By choosing a clear theoretical focus on relational approaches to societal challenges, this interdisciplinary book provides both a broad scope and a coherent argument. It will be of great interest to scholars of social and political psychology, leadership and organization, religious studies, and pedagogy.
Morality & Purpose Vol 9
by J. L. StocksFirst published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Morality Alive in Christ
by Our Sunday VisitorFaith Guidebooks include six lessons each. Each lesson includes dynamic, interactive teaching strategies, Catholic Social Teaching, and attention to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. They include relevant life situations and the purposeful use of sacred art and contemporary photos. Text is organized into smaller "chunks" to facilitate reading and understanding. Special features included in every lesson include: Made in Love which responds to the need for youth to understand the beauty and truth of God's gift of sexuality and chaste living; Take on the Mind of Christ which give student practice in discerning how to act with a disciple's conviction to a relevant dilemma; Called to Proclaim which responds to the need young people have to understand and share basic Church teaching with confidence; and The Heart of a Disciple which gives students a glimpse into the personal relationship between God and one of the saints.
Morality Politics in Western Europe
by Christoffer Green-Pedersen Lars Thorup Larsen Isabelle EngeliWhy do some countries have 'Culture Wars' over morality issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage while other countries hardly experience any conflict? This book argues that morality issues only generate major conflicts in political systems with a significant conflict between religious and secular parties.
Morality Politics in a Secular Age: Strategic Parties and Divided Governments in Europe (Comparative Studies of Political Agendas)
by Eva-Maria Euchner"Euchner’s carefully researched and cogently argued study of morality politics in Europe adds an outstanding piece of research to the ever growing literature on religion and politics. Its combination of quantitative and qualitative comparative analysis involving a novel data set and cross-policy perspectives demonstrates persuasively the role of religion as a resource for political action even in secularized societies."—Michael Minkenberg, Viadrina European University, Germany“Building upon the dichotomy between the “secular” and “religious” worlds of European morality politics, Dr. Euchner plumbs the empirical depths of four nations to unearth a compelling theoretical explanation for when value-laden conflicts surface in parliaments with a strong secular-religious party cleavage. This singularly important volume belongs in the institutional libraries and bibliographic collections of every serious student of public policy analysis, especially those of us who focus on morality policy.”—Raymond Tatalovich, Loyola University Chicago, USAThis book introduces a new theoretical framework from which to understand religion and morality politics in Europe. This framework provides a first—and rather provocative—answer to the general debate on how religion influences policy-making processes. Specifically, the book argues that religion is more a strategic resource for political parties than a fundamental normative doctrine shaping political parties’ policy-making behavior in a systematic and coherent way. The framework proposes a mechanism (i.e. wedge issue competition) that can be used to identify and explain the conditions under which issues related to religious values rise and fall in parliaments of the religious world in Europe and what consequences we may expect in terms of policy reforms.
Morality Without God?
by Walter Sinnott-ArmstrongSome argue that atheism must be false, since without God, no values are possible, and thus "everything is permitted." Walter Sinnott-Armstrong argues that God is not only not essential to morality, but that our moral behavior should be utterly independent of religion. He attacks several core ideas: that atheists are inherently immoral people; that any society will sink into chaos if it is becomes too secular; that without morality, we have no reason to be moral; that absolute moral standards require the existence of God; and that without religion, we simply couldn't know what is wrong and what is right. Sinnott-Armstrong brings to bear convincing examples and data, as well as a lucid, elegant, and easy to understand writing style. This book should fit well with the debates raging over issues like evolution and intelligent design, atheism, and religion and public life as an example of a pithy, tightly-constructed argument on an issue of great social importance.
Morality and Masculinity in the Carolingian Empire
by Rachel StoneWhat did it mean to be a Frankish nobleman in an age of reform? How could Carolingian lay nobles maintain their masculinity and their social position, while adhering to new and stricter moral demands by reformers concerning behaviour in war, sexual conduct and the correct use of power? This book explores the complex interaction between Christian moral ideals and social realities, and between religious reformers and the lay political elite they addressed. It uses the numerous texts addressed to a lay audience (including lay mirrors, secular poetry, political polemic, historical writings and legislation) to examine how Biblical and patristic moral ideas were reshaped to become compatible with the realities of noble life in the Carolingian empire. This innovative analysis of Carolingian moral norms demonstrates how gender interacted with political and religious thought to create a distinctive Frankish elite culture, presenting a new picture of early medieval masculinity.
Morality and Religion: The Jewish Story (Jewish Thought and Philosophy)
by Avi SagiThe relationship between morality and religion has long been controversial, familiar in its formulation as Euthyphro’s dilemma: Is an act right because God commanded it or did God command it because it is right. In Morality and Religion: The Jewish Story, renowned scholar Avi Sagi marshals the breadth of philosophical and hermeneutical tools to examine this relationship in Judaism from two perspectives. The first considers whether Judaism adopted a thesis widespread in other monotheistic religions known as 'divine command morality,' making morality contingent on God’s command. The second deals with the ways Jewish tradition grapples with conflicts between religious and moral obligations. After examining a broad spectrum of Jewish sources—including Talmudic literature, Halakhah, Aggadah, Jewish philosophy, and liturgy—Sagi concludes that mainstream Jewish tradition consistently refrains from attempts to endorse divine command morality or resolve conflicts by invoking a divine command. Rather, the central strand in Judaism perceives God and humans as inhabiting the same moral community and bound by the same moral obligations. When conflicts emerge between moral and religious instructions, Jewish tradition interprets religious norms so that they ultimately pass the moral test. This mainstream voice is anchored in the meaning of Jewish law, which is founded on human autonomy and rationality, and in the relationship with God that is assumed in this tradition.
Morality and the Mail in Nineteenth-Century America
by Wayne E. FullerMorality and the Mail in Nineteenth-Century America explores the evolution of postal innovations that sparked a communication revolution in nineteenth-century America. Wayne E. Fuller examines how evangelical Protestants, the nation's dominant religious group, struggled against those transformations in American society that they believed threatened to paganize the Christian nation they were determined to save. Drawing on House and Senate documents, postmasters general reports, and the Congressional Record, as well as sermons, speeches, and articles from numerous religious and secular periodicals, Fuller illuminates the problems the changed postal system posed for evangelicals, from Sunday mail delivery and Sunday newspapers to an avalanche of unseemly material brought into American homes via improved mail service and reduced postage prices. Along the way, Fuller offers new perspectives on the church and state controversy in the United States as well as on publishing, politics, birth control, the lottery, censorship, Congress's postal power, and the waning of evangelical Protestant influence.
Morality at the Margins: Youth, Language, and Islam in Coastal Kenya
by Sarah HillewaertThis book considers the day-to-day lives of young Muslims on Kenya’s island of Lamu, who live simultaneously on the edge and in the center. At the margins of the national and international economy and of Western notions of modernity, Lamu’s inhabitants nevertheless find themselves the focus of campaigns against Islamic radicalization and of Western touristic imaginations of the untouched and secluded. What does it mean to be young, modern, and Muslim here? How are these denominators imagined and enacted in daily encounters? Documenting the everyday lives of Lamu youth, this ethnography explores how young people negotiate cultural, religious, political, and economic expectations through nuanced deployments of language, dress, and bodily comportment. Hillewaert shows how seemingly mundane practices—how young people greet others, how they walk, dress, and talk—can become tactics in the negotiation of moral personhood.Morality at the Margins traces the shifting meanings and potential ambiguities of such everyday signs—and the dangers of their misconstrual. By examining the uncertainties that underwrite projects of self-fashioning, the book highlights how shifting and scalable discourses of tradition, modernity, secularization, nationalism, and religious piety inform changing notions of moral subjectivity. In elaborating everyday practices of Islamic pluralism, the book shows the ways in which Muslim societies critically engage with change while sustaining a sense of integrity and morality.
Morality, Autonomy, and God
by Keith WardIn Morality, Autonomy, and God, acclaimed philosopher-theologian Keith Ward argues a strong controversial thesis: that morality is not autonomous, and that theistic morality is deeply rational and of critical importance, especially in modern societies. Referring in detail to contemporary work in moral philosophy, especially where it impinges on religious beliefs, Ward defends the view that certain conceptions of morality depend, in important ways, upon the belief in God. But Ward is careful to argue that the idea of God defended is not necessarily or exclusively Christian. Only in the final chapter does he specifically address problems of morality and Christian doctrine.Academic and rigorous in its approach, and written with characteristic verve, Morality, Autonomy, and God is a significant contribution to the field of moral philosophy and the current debate about the link between religion and morality is today's world.
Morality, Violence, and Ritual Circumcision: Writing with Blood (Routledge Studies in the Sociology of Religion)
by Na'ama CarlinThis book uses the Jewish ritual of circumcision to consider how violent acts are embedded within entrenched moral discourses, and offers a new perspective for thinking about violence. Intervening in contemporary debates on the Jewish ritual of circumcision, it departs from both the ordinary defences of circumcision for medical reasons or on grounds of religious freedom, and the criticisms that consider it an unethical violation of bodies that cannot consent. An examination of the intersection of violence and morality, it rejects the binary of violence and morality on which popular debates on circumcision hinge, arguing that in some instances, violence can be a productive experience, and can thus be considered beyond ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Drawing on the thought of Wolfgang Sofsky, Sigmund Freud, and Jacques Derrida, the author contends that circumcision is in fact a form of generative violence that is leveraged for cultural purposes and inherent in the making of bodies. As such, this volume offers a compelling framework that investigates the relationship between bodies, identities, ethics and violence, and will therefore appeal to scholars of sociology, social theory and religion with interests in the sociology of the body, ritual and cultural studies.
Morality: A Response to God's Love
by Joseph StoutzenbergerThis religious book contains chapters on: A Call to Catholic Living, Jesus, The Church, Conscience, Sin and Morality, The Virtues, Moral Decision Making, The Decalogue, The Family and Beyond, Cherishing Each Person, Promoting Peace, Sexuality and Morality, Living the Truth in Love, and Generosity and Justice.
Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times
by Jonathan SacksWe are living through a period of cultural climate change. We have outsourced morality to the markets on the one hand, and the state on the other. The markets have brought wealth to many, and the state has done much to contain the worst excesses of inequality, but neither is capable of bearing the moral weight of showing us how to live. This has had a profound impact on society and the way in which we interact with each other. Traditional values no longer hold, yet recent political swings show that modern ideals of tolerance have left many feeling rudderless and adrift. In this environment we see things fall apart in unexpected ways - toxic public discourse makes true societal progress almost unattainable, a more divisive society is fuelled by identity politics and extremism, and the rise of a victimhood mentality calls for 'safe spaces' but stifles debate. The influence of social media seems all-pervading and the breakdown of the family is only one result of the loss of social capital. Many fear what the future may hold.Delivering a devastatingly insightful critique of our modern condition, and assessing its roots and causes from the ancient Greeks through the Reformation and Enlightenment to the present day, Sacks argues that there is no liberty without morality, and no freedom without responsibility.If we care about the future of western civilisation, all of us must play our part in rebuilding our common moral foundation. Then we will discover afresh the life-transforming and counterintuitive truths that a nation is strong when it cares for the weak, and rich when it cares for the poor.Here is an inspiring vision of a world in which we can all find our place, and face the future without fear.
Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times
by Jonathan SacksA distinguished religious leader's stirring case for reconstructing a shared framework of virtues and values. With liberal democracy embattled, public discourse grown toxic, family life breaking down, and drug abuse and depression on the rise, many fear what the future holds. In Morality, respected faith leader and public intellectual Jonathan Sacks traces today's crisis to our loss of a strong, shared moral code and our elevation of self-interest over the common good. We have outsourced morality to the market and the state, but neither is capable of showing us how to live. Sacks leads readers from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment to the present day to show that there is no liberty without morality and no freedom without responsibility, arguing that we must all must play our part in rebuilding a common moral foundation. A major work of moral philosophy, Morality is an inspiring vision of a world in which we can all find our place and face the future without fear.
Morality: The Catholic View
by Alasdair Macintyre Servais Pinckaers Michael SherwinFr. Servais Pinckaers’s work is well on its way to being accepted as the work on Catholic moral thinking for the coming generation of laymen and students. Pinckaers sharply distinguishes this view of morality from modern “moralities of obligation,” which regard the moral life primarily as obedience to rules that limit human freedom and curb human desires.
Moralizing Cinema: Film, Catholicism, and Power (Routledge Advances in Film Studies)
by Daniel Biltereyst Daniela Treveri GennariThis volume is part of the recent interest in the study of religion and popular media culture (cinema in particular), but it strongly differs from most of this work in this maturing discipline. Contrary to most other edited volumes and monographs on film and religion, Moralizing Cinema will not focus upon films (cf. the representation of biblical figures, religious themes in films, the fidelity question in movies), but rather look beyond the film text, content or aesthetics, by concentrating on the cinema-related actions, strategies and policies developed by the Catholic Church and Catholic organizations in order to influence cinema. Whereas the key role of Catholics in cinema has been well studied in the USA (cf. literature on the Legion of Decency and on the Catholic influenced Production Code Administration), the issue remains unexplored for other parts of the world. The book includes case studies on Argentina, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, and the USA.
Morals Not Knowledge: Recasting the Contemporary U.S. Conflict between Religion and Science
by John H. EvansA free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. In a time when conservative politicians challenge the irrefutability of scientific findings such as climate change, it is more important than ever to understand the conflict at the heart of the “religion vs. science” debates unfolding in the public sphere. In this groundbreaking work, John H. Evans reveals that, with a few limited exceptions, even the most conservative religious Americans accept science’s ability to make factual claims about the world. However, many religious people take issue with the morality implicitly promoted by some forms of science. Using clear and engaging scholarship, Evans upends the prevailing notion that there is a fundamental conflict over the way that scientists and religious people make claims about nature and argues that only by properly understanding moral conflict between contemporary religion and science will we be able to contribute to a more productive interaction between these two great institutions.
Morals and Manners in Islam
by Marwan Ibrahim Al-KaysiMorals and Manners in Islam is a brief yet comprehensive handbook for Muslims and those non-Muslims interested in acquiring a broad knowledge of the Muslim way of life. The book's contents, derived mainly from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the main sources of jurisprudence, are listed in points format.