Fred2.jpg

Fred Glennon, Ph.D. (Courses)
Professor (RH 216)
Department of Religious Studies
Le Moyne College
Syracuse, New York 13214
(315)445-4343

REL 337

Course Schedule

Sections 01, 02   Reilly Hall 338, MWF, 10:30-11:20; 11:30-12:20

Date

Class Topics and Assignments

8/29

Introductions

8/31

Introductions, Blackboard, Learning Covenants

  • Fred Glennon, "The Learning Covenant Revisited," Teaching Theology and Religion  vol. 11 no. 1, pp. 32-41 (on Blackboard under Reading Assignments).  This essay will provide a framework for the pedagogical style I use in this class.)
  • Read Syllabus and Learning Covenant materials (learning covenant guidelines, activity options) on Blackboard (http://blackboard.lemoyne.edu) or my web page (http://webserver.lemoyne.edu/~glennon/rel337.htm)

I.

Elements of a Christian Social Ethic

9/2

 

Facts and Perceptions

Questions:  What are the elements of a Christian Social Ethic?  Why are facts and perceptions of the situation so important in developing one's ethical framework?  What influences one's perceptions of ethical situations?

  • De La Torre, "The Liberation of Ethics," from Doing Ethics from the Margins (on Blackboard under Reading Assignments)
  • Stassen and Gushie, "The Four Dimensions of Holistic Character Ethics,” from Kingdom Ethics (for majors only on Blackboard)

9/5

Labor Day (No class)

9/7

Mass of the Holy Spirit and community picnic (No class)

9/9

 

Social-Institutional Location/Loyalties

Questions:  Does my social and institutional location (my ethnicity, race, class, family origins, religion, educational status, political perspective, etc.) shape my moral conduct and moral character?  Does it contribute anything to my ability to think, feel, and act ethically about the important issues of our day?  Does it keep me from seeing other points of view? 

  • "Ethical Action," in Ring et al., Introduction to the Study of Religion, 97-113 (on Blackboard under Reading Assignments)

Supplemental

·         Stanley Hauerwas, “Toward an Ethics of Character” (on Blackboard)
 

9/12

 

Beliefs, Values and Moral Principles

Questions:  What role does the beliefs and values I hold play in my ethical decision-making?  How have these contributed the Christian complicity in injustice over the years?  What principles does the Catholic church think ought to guide ethical decision-making on important societal issues?  Do I agree with these principles?

  • Tom Massaro, "Nine Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching," in Living Justice (Sheed and Ward), 113-167 (on Blackboard).

9/14

 

Moral Argument

Questions:  What constitutes a good moral argument?  What is the relationship between the conclusions I reach and the beliefs, principles, and facts from which those conclusions are drawn?

  • Anthony Weston, "A Word to Students: How to Write an Ethics Paper," in A Practical Companion to Ethics, 85-97 (on Blackboard)

Assessment Activity #1:  Learning Covenants Due (see Assessments on Blackboard)

II.

Gender, Sexualities, Marriages, and Families

9/16

 

The Social Construction of Sexuality and Gender

Questions:  What are gender and sex?  Do men and women have different innate qualities and characteristics?  Or are these characteristics shaped by their culture and society? What is the nature and purpose of sexuality?  What does it mean to say that we are sexual beings?  Is it only about making babies or is it more?  Should sexual expression be limited?  If so, in what ways?  

  • James Nelson, "Embodiment in Sexual Theology," Embodiment, 19-36 (on Blackboard)

Supplemental

·         Daniel Maguire, “Sex and the Sacred,” (on Blackboard) 

9/19

 

The Morality of Sexual Variations

Questions:  Why is there such debate about the morality of homosexuality and same-sex marriages today?  Can people with different sexual orientations act on their sexuality in morally appropriate ways?  If so, what makes those acts moral and others immoral?  

Supplemental

  • Fred Glennon, "Must a Covenantal Sexual Ethic Be Heterocentric? Insights from Congregations" (on Blackboard) 

9/21

 

Marriage in Christian Perspective

Questions:  What are the nature and purpose of marriage in the Christian traditions?  Does the blessing of gay marriage or civil unions undermine or threaten them or can these nontraditional forms achieve the same ends?

Supplemental

·         George Yancey, “Unequally Yoked by Race or by Faith,” (on Blackboard)

9/23

 

Parenthood and Families

Questions:  How does the Christian tradition understand the role of the family and parenting?  Is the nuclear family the norm or an aberration?  In our day of over population, can we really justify having more than one child?  What is the impact of the economy on the well-being of families?

9/26

Perspectives on Sexual Ethics

Questions:  What counts as good sex?  Is it only heterosexual, marital?  Or are there other ethics that are appropriate?  Is dominance in one’s sexual expression ever morally appropriate?  How should we treat our sexual partners?

  • Marvin Ellison, “Reimagining Good Sex,” in Erotic Justice, 76-93 (on Blackboard)
  • John Stoltenberg, "How Men Have (a) Sex: An Address to College Students," Redefining Sexual Ethics, 145-156 (on Blackboard)
  • Karen Lebacqz, “Love Your Enemies: Sex, Power, and Christian Ethics” (on Blackboard)
  • Karen Lebacqz, “Appropriate Vulnerability: A Sex Ethic for Singles” (on Blackboard)

III.

Justice and Individual Rights

9/28

 

Injustice

Questions:  How do we know when an injustice is occurring or has occurred?  What are the marks of such injustice?  What does it mean to say that our society is marked by a "web of injustice"?    

  • Lebacqz, Justice in an Unjust World, chapter 1 ("Rupture: The Reign of Injustice") (on Blackboard)

9/30

 

Christian Conceptions of Justice

Questions:  What is social justice?  Is it one thing or are there various understandings of it?  What significance does the Bible have for Christians who are trying to understand social justice? 

  • Peters and Hinson-Hasty, “Introduction,” in To Do Justice, xii-xxiii
  • Stephen Mott, "God's Justice and Ours," Biblical Ethics and Social Change, 59-81 (on Blackboard)

10/3

 

Immigration

Questions:  What do the Christian conceptions of welcoming the stranger and caring for the sojourner suggest for our current immigration policies?  Should we build fences and borders to keep immigrants out?  How has our previous immigration policies contributed to the problem?  Is immigration only a problem for the U.S. or is it a global phenomenon?

10/5

 

Abortion

Questions:  What does it mean to say that people have human rights?  How extensive are they?  What do they mean, if anything, for the abortion debate?  Can you envision an instance where aborting a fetus might be a morally justifiable act on the part of a woman and/or family?  If not, why not?  If so, what are the reasons you would use to justify it? Are other forms of birth control and family planning acceptable to you?  What are they and why?  

10/7

Euthanasia/Suicide

Questions:  Is it ethical to choose to end one's own life, especially when one's quality of life is so bad?  Who should decide? Are all forms of euthanasia unethical?  Is there ever a time when medical personnel can and should assist people in ending their lives?

·         "The Vatican's Declaration on Euthanasia, 1980"

·         Stanley Hauerwas, “Euthanasia and Suicide” (on Blackboard)

·         William Phipps, "Christian Perspectives on Suicide,"

Supplemental

·         Dan Callahan, “Pursuing a Peaceful Death” (on Blackboard)

Assessment Activity #3:  Mid-Semester Evaluation Due (on Blackboard under Assessment Activities)

10/10

Fall Break

No Class

10/12

Health Care

Questions:  How should we distribute health care?  Is it a part of the communal provision that we should provide to each other?  Or should it only be distributed on the basis of one’s ability to pay?

  • Anna Marie Vigen, “For Healing and Wholeness,” in To Do Justice, 52-62
  • Audrey Chapman, “Health Care Reform: The Potential Contributions of a Faith-Based Approach,” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, 28,2 (2008): 205-221 (on Blackboard)

10/14

 

The Stem Cell Debate:

The Science

Questions:  What are the facts surrounding the stem cell debate?  Are embryonic stem cells really necessary for the research or would adult stem cells be sufficient? 

 

·         Ted Peters, The Stem Cell Debate, 1-60.

10/17

The Stem Cell Debate:

Ethical Frameworks

 

Questions:  What ethical frameworks do people use in this debate?  Which ethical framework makes the most sense from the perspective of the Christian tradition?  Which one or ones do I agree with the most?

 

·         Ted Peters, The Stem Cell Debate,

Supplemental

·         Vatican Declaration on "The Gift of Life: Respect for Human Embryos" 1987

IV.

Justice and Social Rights

10/19

The Global Economy

 

Questions:  What are the possibilities and pitfalls of our emerging global economy?  Can Christianity provide ethical guidance or is the global economy beyond its reach?

 

·         David Loy, “The Religion of the Market,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion (on Blackboard)

10/21

Work and Workers

Questions:  Why do people work?  Is it only to make a living?  Or is there something in human nature that leads us to engage in some type of productive work?  Are all forms of work equally valuable or is there some work that is better than others and even some work that human beings should not engage in? 

Supplemental

  • William May, "Theology of Work," New Dictionary of Catholic Social Thought, 991-1001 (on Blackboard)
  • Fred Glennon, "Desperate Exchanges:  Secondary Work, Justice, and Public Policy," Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics 1992:  225-244 (on Blackboard)

10/24

Understanding Poverty

 

 

Questions:  Who are the poor?  Why are they poor?  Is it simply a failure of personal responsibility?  Or is it more complex involving structural impediments that the poor have difficulty overcoming?

·         Rebecca Blank, “The Changing Face of Poverty,” in It Takes a Nation (Princeton), chap. 1 (on Blackboard)

10/26

Addressing Poverty

 

 Questions:  How do we build upon the capabilities of the poor to insure that they do not continue in poverty?  What restructuring of the workplace and the economy would be required to insure this.

·         Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (excerpts) (on Blackboard)

10/28

Poverty Policy

Questions:  Whose responsibility is it to overcome poverty?  What obligations do the poor have?  What is the obligation of the state toward its neediest citizens?

 

·         Ridzi et al., "Catholics and the Welfare State,” Journal of Catholic Social Thought (on Blackboard)

 

Supplemental

 

·         Fred Glennon, “Renewing the Welfare Covenant:  A Covenantal Perspective on Responsible Poverty Policy,” (on Blackboard)

10/31

Economic Security and Welfare

Questions:  Is there a correlation between wealth and poverty?  Does the desire for more (money, goods, services, etc.) on the part of those considered wealthy or privileged contribute to the poverty experienced by others as some suggest?  Do extremes of compensation contribute to this problem?  What is the obligation of the state toward its neediest citizens?

·         Johnny B. Hill, “For Financial Security in All Stages of Life,” in To Do Justice 63-72

Supplemental

·         Fred Glennon, "Welfare/Welfare State;" "Social Security," in New Dictionary of Catholic Social Thought (on Blackboard)\

11/2

 

Taxation

Questions:  How should we distribute the tax burden in our society?  Should it be a progressive or more of a flat tax?  What does the Christian concept of covenant community imply for our tax structure?

·         Rebecca Todd Peters, “For Funding Our Values,” in To Do Justice, 118-127.

11/4

 

Criminal Justice

Questions: What do you think should be the task of prisons:  to punish or to rehabilitate?  How would you balance concern for retributive, distributive, and restorative justice?   

 

·         Elizabeth Bounds, “For Prisoners and Our Communities,” in To Do Justice,31-40.

V.

Violence

11/7

What is Violence?

 

Questions:  What do we mean by the term "violence"?  Is it only physical, or can it be emotional, social, or institutional?  If it is broader, then what are we trying to get at when we say that someone has experienced violence?  

  • Robert McAfee Brown, "Clarifying Our Terms," in Religion and Violence, 1-13 (on Blackboard)

11/9

 

 

Sanctioned Violence:  War

 

Questions:  Considering the multiple conflicts going on in the world today (Afghanistan, Iraq war, Israel-Palestine, etc.), how do the parties involved in the conflicts justify going to war?  Is there such a thing as a "just war" given today's military firepower?  What criteria should we use to measure the justice of a war or conflict?  

  • Daniel Maguire, The Horrors We Bless (especially chapter 2). 

11/11

 

Sanctioned Violence:  Capital Punishment

Questions:  Should a society have the right or obligation to put people to death, even when that same society does not allow individuals to do the same?  If so, what reasons does a society put forth to defend such a right?  If not, why not?  What reasons do Christians give to support, limit, or oppose the death penalty?  What alternatives to the death penalty seem appropriate?

  • Walter Wink, Jesus and Nonviolence, 1-50

11/14

 

Nonviolent Social Change

Questions:  Does social change only come through violent means?  Is the notion of redemptive violence really a myth?  Is the biblical concept of "turning the other cheek" realistic in our world today?

  • Walter Wink, Jesus and Nonviolence, 51-103

Supplementary (to read in addition to the above, not in place of)

  • Fred Glennon, "Baseball's Surprising Moral Example: Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson, and the Racial Integration of America," in Faith of Fifty Million: Baseball and Religion in American Culture, 145-166 (on Blackboard)

11/16

 

Revisiting Moral Argument

Questions: What have we learned about moral argument to this point?  What do I still need to do?

 

In this class we will review what it means to make a moral argument through in class reflections and discussion.

11/18

 

Case Study

Independent preparation and completion of learning activities.

 

Assessment Activity #4: Case Study Analysis Due (on Blackboard under Assessment Activities)

11/21-27

Thanks giving Break (No classes)

VI.

The Environment

11/28

 

 Roots of the

Ecological Crisis

Questions:  Is our world on the brink of ecological crisis (global warming, ozone depletion, species extinction, etc.)?  If so, how did we get to this place?  Is it only the result of overpopulation, consumption, and the like, or did religion, especially Christianity, play a role at the level of worldview and ethic?  Is there hope within religious traditions for addressing this crisis?

 

11/30

Theology and Ecology

Questions:  What are the theological beliefs and values that would enable Christians to rethink their relationship to the natural world?  How do we learn to see the intrinsic value of the world around us rather than simply see it as there for our own purposes?

 

·         Grace Kao, “For All Creation,” in To Do Justice,  97-107

·         Sallie McFague, “Intimate Creation:  God’s Body, Our Home,” Christian Century (on Blackboard)

12/2

Environmental Ethics

Questions:  What environmental ethics do Christian traditions espouse to address the directions we should take? 

 

·         Friesen and Guhr, “Metanoia and Healing:  Toward a Great Plains Land Ethic,” Journal of Religious Ethics (on Blackboard)

·         United States Catholic Conference, “Renewing the Earth:  An Invitation to Reflection and Action on Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching”

12/5

Open Topics (to be determined by student interest)

12/7

Open Topics (to be determined by student interest)

12/9

Review and Summary (last day of class)

12/12

 Final exam:  Section 01:  3-5:30pm (Exam due 5/16 by 5pm)

                    

12/13

Final exam:  Section 02:  3-5:30pm (Exam due 5/16 by 5pm)