Moral Traditions

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Moral TraditionsAn Introduction to World Religious Ethics

Mari Rapela Heidt


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Created by the publishing team of Anselm Academic.

Cover image royalty free from iStock

The scriptural quotations contained herein, unless otherwise noted, are from the New American Biblewith Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms. Copyright 1991, 1986, 1970 by the Confraternityof Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, D.C. Used by the permission of the copyright owner. All rightsreserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in

writing from the copyright owner.

Copyright 2010 by Mari Rapela Heidt. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedby any means without the written permission of the publisher, Anselm Academic, Christian BrothersPublications, 702 Terrace Heights, Winona, MN 55987-1320, www.anselmacademic.org.

Printed in the United States of America

7029

ISBN 978-0-88489-749-1


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Contents

Preface viii

I n T r o d u c T I o n 1

What Studying Ethics Requires 3

c h A p T e r 1

Ethics,Morality,andtheStudyofReligiousEthics 6

Ethics and Morality 6

Categories of Ethical Systems 9

Comparative Methods 12

c h A p T e r 2

EthicsintheHinduTradition 17

A Brief Review of the Hindu Tradition 17

The Moral World of Hinduism 20

Hindu Values and Principles 24

Moral Perspectives: Abortion

and the Hindu Tradition 27

c h A p T e r 3

EthicsandtheBuddha 32

A Brief Review of the Buddhist Tradition 32

The Moral World of Buddhism 37

Buddhist Values and Principles 38

Moral Perspectives: Wealth, Poverty,

and the Buddhist Tradition 42

c h A p T e r 4

TheJewishMoralTradition 46

A Brief Review of the Jewish Tradition 46

The Jewish Moral Universe 51

Jewish Values and Principles 53

Moral Perspectives: Judaism and

the Environment 55

c h A p T e r 5

EthicsintheChristianTradition 59

A Brief Review of the Christian Tradition 59

The Christian Moral Universe 63

Christian Values and Principles 66

Moral Perspectives: War, Peace, and

the Christian Tradition 69

c h A p T e r 6

IslamandtheMuslimMoralTradition 74

A Brief Review of the Islamic Tradition 74The Moral World of Islam 78

Islamic Values and Principles 83

Moral Perspectives: Men, Women,

and Islam 84


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c h A p T e r 7

TheChineseMoralTradition 90

Chinese Traditional Religion 91

Daoism 93

The Confucian Tradition95

The Chinese Moral Universe 97

Virtues to Live By 99

Moral Perspectives: Chinas One-Child

Policy 101

c h A p T e r 8

AdditionalMoralTraditions 106

Sikhism 106

Jainism 108

Bah110

Shinto 113

Glossary 117

SelectedBibliography 123

Index 129


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viii

Preface

Numerous things inspired me to write this book,including the many questions my students ask.In classes from Introduction to Theology to

Medical Ethics, students are incredibly curiousabout religious traditions different from theirown. Their questions extend beyond matters ofreligious practice to the motives behind peoplesactions. Why do they act that way? It doesntmake sense! Students also think a lot about moralquestions, especially controversial questions orthose for which there are no simple answers. Foranswers, students most often turn to the Inter-net, which offers plenty of information, much ofit nonsense. Todays students have few tools forsifting through the mass of material true, false,exaggerated, or lacking available on ethics andmorality. There is a great need to satisfy studentsinitial curiosity and to give them the tools to findreal answers to their questions.

Students need to learn more about theirown religious and moral traditions and alsoto reach beyond them to learn about otherreligious and moral traditions. In a pluralisticsociety, knowledge conquers fear of those who

are different from us, including different intheir religious practices and beliefs. Ignorance ofothers religious and moral traditions inspires afear in many that may even lead to violence. Forexample, in the wake of the terrorist attacks onthe United States on September 11, 2001, many

Sikhs in the West, especially Sikh men, becamethe victims of hate crimes that have rangedfrom name-calling and intimidation to murder.

These crimes occur mainly because of the fearthat these men, with their turbans and beards,are terrorists, or are somehow in league with orrelated to terrorists. Fear and hatred this power-ful come primarily from ignorance, includingignorance of the beliefs and motivations of ourneighbors. Even after the publicity generatedby hate crimes against Sikhs, few Americansare aware that the Sikh religious tradition isbased on nonviolence, tolerance, and equality.Its likely that most people, given the chance tolearn more about their neighbors, would makea real attempt to understand them, and theignorance that gives rise to this kind of fear andhatred would be greatly alleviated. Sadly, manystudents approach the study of religion and reli-gious ethics by simply placing their own faith atthe top of a hierarchy, and then deciding howthey feel about a particular tradition based onhow closely it matches their own beliefs. This isnot a recipe for success and deep understanding.

Religion is a powerful influence on humanbehavior. The precepts and teachings of the

worlds many religious traditions greatly influ-ence how people act toward others. Although itis certainly possible to act morally without beingreligious, religious traditions remain among the


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preFAce ix

most important arenas in which people learnthe rules of human interaction. Learning aboutthe history, art, and major beliefs of the worldsreligious traditions is a good start toward greaterunderstanding but does not go far enough.

We need also to understand how those beliefstranslate into actions, and how those actions areperceived. Misunderstandings of human actions,not academic misunderstandings about majorbeliefs, is what breeds division and distrust. Forthis reason, it is essential that we study the moralunderpinnings of different religious traditions.Morality is about human actions toward others,and understanding the background of humanactions can help to alleviate fear and distrust.

Some Assumptions in This Text

This text is written for students who genuinelywant to learn more about the ethics of the majorreligious traditions. For that reason, it assumesseveral things. First, this text assumes a reader

with a strong grasp of what constitutes religion. That is, we have set aside questions about thedefinition ofreligion in favor of looking at spe-cific religious traditions. A philosophical debateover what ideas and beliefs actually constitute areligion, while valuable, is not undertaken here.

I see religion as much more a way of livingthan a set of beliefs. This way of living translatesinto a way to relate to other people and seeoneself in relationship to them. Thus, anotherassumption of this text is that religion is one ofthe most powerful influences on human moralbehavior. Even those who are not religiouslyactive are influenced by the values of the domi-nant religious tradition where they live. These

powerful influences, especially when taken withthe influence of religion on culture, reach manypeople and influence even those who profess noreligious faith. The values of religious traditionscan also become incorporated into cultural normsthat in turn affect entire societies.

This text focuses generally on how the vari-ous major religions are practiced today. Althoughthe history of a tradition is important, this workexplores how religion shapes modern humanbehavior and how each religious tradition con-

sidered is at work in the modern world. Manyother works address the histories of religioustraditions, including many aspects of their moralhistory. While this text includes some history, itfocuses on the distinctive moral features of eachtradition in the world today.

Additionally, this is not a book on worldreligions. This text assumes that readers eitherhave had a course in world religions or will beusing this text alongside another that explainskey features of world religious traditions. It is not

necessary to know everything about the tradi-tions discussed in this book to study religiousethics, but some knowledge is essential to under-stand many of the points made here.

Finally, the study of religious ethics shouldlead to dialogue and greater understandingbetween people and among faith traditions.Other goals of such study are certainly valid and

worthy, and some of them may be discerned as apart of this text. However, the primary goal here

is interreligious understanding.

The Structure of This Text

This text begins with a brief discussion of eth-ics and morality and how values shape humancharacter and behavior. Chapter 1 also includesa short course in comparative moral method.Subsequent chapters focus on the differentmajor world religious traditions. Each of thesechapters begins with an overview of the history

and general beliefs of a particular tradition andthe approach to ethics and morality that exists

within that tradition. This overview also explores what is sacred to each tradition, how moraltruths are communicated to people, and brieflymentions any important religious texts. This


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x MorAL TrAdITIons: An InTroducTIon To WorLd reLIgIous eThIcs

section is in no way comprehensive; rather, itprovides a short refresher course in the tradition.

The foundations of moral actions and the majormoral principles associated with each traditionare discussed in greater detail in the next section

of each chapter.Each chapter concludes with several dis-cussion questions and suggestions for furtherstudy. These suggestions include books, movies,and music that will enhance understanding ofeach tradition and help the student enter intothe thinking and beliefs of the members of thatreligious tradition.

A Note on Limits

Scholars of ethics or world religions will rightlynote that much is missing here. Many traditions

have been omitted, and some voices from within the traditions discussed are not repre-sented. A full and complete analysis of all worldreligious traditions would fill untold volumesand take more than a lifetime to complete.

Thus, although I have attempted to includemany perspectives, ultimately the individualteacher will shape the presentation of materialand the emphasis given to what is presentedhere. Many further resources are available, andstudents and instructors alike are urged to seethis text as a beginning in a long conversationon religion and ethics. As such, this text servesas a sort of road map viewed from high above,

which shows only the major highways andintersections. Details and smaller roads will

have to be added as one delves further into thestudy of moral traditions.


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1

Intoduction

World religious ethics, the subject ofthis text, focuses on why people actas they do and how religion influ-

ences their behavioral choices. One fruitful wayto study the ethics of world religious traditionsis to employ methods from comparative ethics,a subdiscipline of the broader academic study ofethics. Comparative ethics approaches the ethicsof world religions in a multidisciplinary manner,

combining insights from theology and philoso-phy with those from social science, anthropology,and even politics to better understand humanbehavior toward others. Ethics and morality arestrongly focused on how people can live togetherand create societies that promote human well-being and the common good. Creating thosesocieties is an ongoing, collective process ofdiscerning what people value and which actionspeople agree are best. Voices from different per-spectives invigorate this process.

Beginning students in religious ethics oftenhave trouble with the comparative aspect of thisfield. Comparative does not mean a search forthe best or a search for the tradition that fitsbest with my own beliefs about human behavior.Comparative ethics is not at all like comparing

prices on the same product in different stores.Instead, the comparative aspect of this disciplineis a method for understanding similarities anddifferences between belief systems and howthese beliefs influence the behavior of individu-als; the comparative method involves looking atthe roots of a tradition and the moral or ethicalnorms within that tradition. Comparing conceptsand values between different religious traditions

allows scholars and students to gain a real anddeep understanding of the motivations behindhuman behaviors toward others.

The terms religious and ethics are fairly self-explanatory.Religious refers to religious traditions,

which are a powerful force for shaping humanbehavior. There are many definitions of religionfrom psychology, sociology, theology, and phi-losophy, but the most common definitions centeron belief in a supernatural system or supernaturalbeings that exist parallel to human beings and

interact with them. Religions each have a par-ticular view of the world and how human beingsfit into the larger scheme of all life, the cosmos,and the actions and purposes of divine beings.Most religions also involve specific practices andrituals, with many of these open only to those


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2 MorAL TrAdITIons: An InTroducTIon To WorLd reLIgIous eThIcs

who express some belief in the truths offered bythat religious group. Religions are also referred toas religious traditions, a term that indicates a longhistory of adherence to a faith. From their inter-actions with others, many students are familiar

with several religious traditions, including thosemost common in the United States the manydifferent denominations of Christianity, Judaism,and to some extent, Islam.1 Many students also

will recognize Buddhism, Hinduism, and numer-ous other traditions as distinct belief systems andreligious traditions.

The terms ethics and morality are dealt within detail in chapter 1, but in general they bothrefer to human behavior toward others. Howpeople treat other people and how they view

their own obligations toward others are deeplyinfluenced by the belief systems of their reli-gious traditions.

Although in some senses comparative ethicshas existed since independent cultures first cameinto contact with each other, the academic studyof comparative ethics is fairly new. The organizedacademic study of comparative ethics originatedonly within the last four decades or so. Severalmajor texts on comparative religious ethics

appeared in the late 1970s, although interest inthis field has grown considerably since 1991.The growth of interest in studying religious

ethics has roughly mirrored the growth of whatis today called globalization, especially the rise oftechnology that allows information to be trans-mitted around the world within seconds. The riseof cable television and its 24-hour news networks,along with the instant access of the Internet,have run parallel to the interest in religious eth-ics. It is one thing to read about Buddhism in a

book, and another thing entirely to see Buddhistmonks protesting live on television from Burma,

Thailand, or Tibet. The study of religious ethicshas also grown as international travel has becomemore convenient and less expensive. Today a per-son can experience firsthand the moral norms at

work in the countries and cultures where theyare dominant.

The study of religious ethics has alsomirrored the many cultural changes that haveoccurred around the world as a result of global-

ization, including changes in the United States,Canada, and Western Europe, often collectivelyreferred to as the West.2 Most countries inthe West have long relied on trade for certainfoods, oil, fabrics, manufactured goods, and otherthings, but in the 1990s the opportunities formore open and expansive trading between coun-tries grew exponentially. Particularly after thefall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the creationof more open, freer societies in Eastern Europe,the movement of goods between nations became

much easier and more likely. As economiesaround the world grew increasingly interdepen-dent, the movement of human beings aroundthe globe also increased, with many people nowliving and working outside their countries oforigin. For example, prior to the fall of the Berlin

Wall in 1989, very few Eastern Europeans wholived behind the iron curtain could leave theirown countries, and those who were able to leaveoften endured serious hardships to escape totali-

tarian regimes. Today, Germany is a united nationagain, and its citizens are also a part of the largerEuropean Union, which allows for free travel andfree trade throughout the European-membercountries. Similarly, from the 1950s and into the1980s it would have been almost unthinkable forany person in China to leave that country to liveand work in a capitalist society while remainingChinese. Today many Chinese business peoplelive and work in the West and travel frequentlybetween their Western and Chinese homes.

This expansion in contact across culturesand religious traditions worldwide has been bothgood and bad economically ( just watch the reac-tion in one stock market when another across the

world rises or falls dramatically). However, it hasbeen undeniably good for the study of religious


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InTroducTIon 3

ethics as it has brought people of diverse back-grounds and religious traditions into close dailycontact. The moral traditions and understandingsof Buddhism, for example, are no longer confinedto countries in Asia, but are found on the main

streets of Toronto, Seattle, and Paducah, Ken-tucky. Hindu temples and Methodist churchesshare the same block in the American Midwest,and people of nearly any religious traditioncan find a place to pray or worship in even thesmallest towns.

As noted above, the comparative study ofreligious ethics is a multidisciplinary undertaking,and culture is an important part of the equation.Like religion, culture has many definitions, butmost center on the practices and beliefs of a par-

ticular group of people that are passed on fromone generation to the next. Culture includesgeneral social beliefs and practices, as well as art,music, and other aspects of life that are unique toparticular groups of people.

Religion is powerful it shapes humanbehavior, which in turn shapes the culturein which people live. It also adds many otheraspects to the culture in general. Who can envi-sion India, for example, without the gods of

Hinduism and the festivals, such as Diwali andHoli, associated with them, or Japan without themany Shinto shrines that blanket even the small-est cities? Some of the symbols of traditionalRussian culture incorporate the architecturalshapes of its Eastern Orthodox churches, just asItaly is typified by the spires of its many Catholicchurches. An understanding of culture adds tothe study of religious ethics by demonstrating

just how pervasive and strong certain religiousideas have become, and how these ideas affect

the behavior not only of adherents of a givenreligion but also of people in the same culture

who do not follow that religion. The study of religious ethics is compli-

cated by another factor as well. While manypeople within each religious tradition believe

the same things and practice the same ritu-als, rites, festivals, and celebrations, there is nosingle expression of each faith tradition, noone way that really and truly is the illustrationof that religious tradition. Practices and even

moral codes vary tremendously within each tra-dition. For example, almost two billion peopleworldwide are Christian, and all express a beliefin Jesus Christ. However, under the generalumbrella of the Christian tradition are manydifferent responses to that faith. Catholics andPresbyterians, for example, have differing ideasabout who should lead churches and how wor-ship services should be organized. Some groups

within the Christian tradition insist that salva-tion is open to all, while others insist that only

Christians will have an eternal life. Similar vari-ety exists in the Islamic tradition. The worlds1.3 billion Muslims all believe in the one God

whose messenger is Muhammad, but differentgroups within Islam have varying ideas aboutsociety and social organization, and about whichpractices are required of a good Muslim.

This diversity within religious traditionscomplicates the introductory study of religiousethics, which requires a broad overview of the

most basic beliefs of the various religious tradi-tions. Because this work is an introduction,the material presented here is not meant to becomprehensive, nor to allow for every variation

within each tradition, but to offer a basis forfurther study of each tradition. If one continues

with further study, one will find many variationsin thinking within each tradition.

WHATSTudyInGETHICSREquIRES

Studying the ethics of world religions requiresseveral things, the most important of which arean open mind and a positive attitude towardstudying ideas that may be unfamiliar. Respectfor and listening to people of different faiths are


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the habits of mind most closely linked to successin understanding religious ethics.

To effectively study religious ethics, one mustbe able to step outside ones own tradition andlearn to see the world differently. Ultimately, each

religious tradition presents a certain view of theworld, a lens that clarifies and makes sense of thethings that happen in the world and in ones life.People tend to act in harmony with their world-

view and with the demands this view places ontheir behavior. Learning to see the world as otherssee it is a giant step toward understanding humanbehavior, but it can be difficult to learn to lookbeyond everything that one has been taught aboutreligion, the meaning of human life, a Divinepresence, and other human beings. A real study of

religious ethics, however, requires no less.Considering other explanations for human life

and behavior and the worldviews of others doesnot mean giving up ones own beliefs. Rather, itmeans being open to the traditions of others andaccepting their religious motivations as appro-priate within their own religious contexts. In onesense, comparing ethics between religious tradi-tions would seem to be easy. One would simplylist how each tradition approaches a particular

problem or some aspect of human life, and thencompare lists. One could even envision a chartor spreadsheet set up to do just this. However,

comparing ethical traditions is not that simple.It requires learning to see the world throughother peoples eyes and trying to understandthe real and complex motivations for behavior.Religious teachings and beliefs are only one part

of the equation, though a large part for manypeople. Human emotions, culture, motivations,moral precepts, teachings, and relationship to theDivine cannot easily be reduced to an item on achart or a list. Trying to do so is a bit like com-paring apples to cars to spoons. It simply doesnot allow us to learn anything significant aboutreligious ethics.

Finally, studying religious ethics requiresone to learn to compare traditions withoutdenigrating them or the people who follow

them. One does not have to believe as othersdo to understand their motivations and actions,and evaluating the beliefs of others based solelyon ones own beliefs interferes with the type ofunderstanding that religious ethics seeks. Thisarea of study is not about deciding whether apersons beliefs about the Divine and the humanperson and the world are correct or incorrect;it is about understanding peoples values andhow those values are demonstrated in actions.

A search for understanding, not a critique ofthe beliefs of different faiths, is what shouldcharacterize the study of religious ethics.

Discussion Questions

1. What biases do you believe most people bring to the study of religious ethics? Can these biasesbe overcome?

2. What do you believe is the largest challenge in undertaking the study of religious ethics? Why?

3. In what areas of American life can you see differing religious ethics at work, even in small ways?4. Describe your own worldview. Which aspects of this worldview will be the most difficult to

overlook in the study of religious ethics?

5. How is your worldview different from that of your parents and grandparents? What might besome of the reasons for this?

6. Which major religious traditions are prevalent in your area? How have they influenced thedominant culture of your region?


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InTroducTIon 5

For Further Study

Tolearnmoreaboutworldreligioustraditions,lookforthesetitles:

Esposito, John, Darrell Fasching, and Todd Lewis.

World Religions Today. New York: Oxford Univer-sity Press, 2006.

Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the Worlds Religions:

Tradition, Challenge , and Change. New York:McGraw-Hill, 2008.

Neusner, Jacob, ed. World Religions in America. Louis-ville, KY: Westminster / John Knox Press, 2003.

Smith, Huston. The Worlds Religions: Our Great Wis-

dom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper San Fran-cisco, 1958, 2001.

Tolearnmoreaboutcomparativeethicsingeneral,readthefollowing:

Twiss, Sumner B., and David Little. Comparative Reli-

gious Ethics. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978.

Schweiker, William, ed. The Blackwell Companion toReligious Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005.

Notes

1. The reported numbers of followers of different reli-gious traditions in the United States vary from source

to source. Some estimates suggest the number ofMuslims in the United States now equals or surpassesthat of Jews. Estimates of the U.S. Muslim popula-

tion range from 1.5 to 10 million, depending on thesource. See the Statistical Abstract of the United States(available online at www.census.gov/compendia/statab). See also the research of the Pew Foundation intoreligious adherents in the United States, available at

www.religions.pewforum.org/affiliations.2. The West is a term in common usage that refers to

people who live in industrialized societies, which are

generally the worlds wealthiest. These include thepeople of the United States, Canada, and the cultur-

ally distinct societies of Western Europe, includingthe United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Most

analysts also include Japan in this definition, as itsGDP and trade partnerships with the other nationslisted make it economically similar to them. Also pos-

sibly included would be Australia, New Zealand, andSouth Korea. It should be noted that some scholars

and analysts object to the term the Westbecause of its

ambiguity and perceived condescension toward peoplewho live in other areas of the world.


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6

ethic, Moality, and thstudy of rligiou ethic

c h A p T e r 1

It is not possible to begin the study of religiousethics without understanding what ethics andmorality are and why they matter. The primary

methods used in the study of religious ethicsmust also be examined to understand precisely

what the findings of this study demonstrate. Thischapter, therefore, defines ethics, morality, andconscienceand inspects some of the ways that sys-tems of ethics have been categorized over time;

it also considers some of the foremost methodsused thus far in the study of religious ethics.

ETHICSAndMoRAlITy

Most people are familiar with the term ethics, which appears almost daily in American life.Nearly every workplace has a code of ethics thatemployees must agree to follow, and the newsis filled with the ethical lapses or unethical

behaviors of public and private persons. Theseethical lapses often lead to punishment: eithera self-imposed penance such as a public apol-ogy or a penalty levied by another party, usuallyan employer or law enforcement agency. Somepeople are even imprisoned for their ethical

lapses. It is no wonder, then, that many peoplethink of ethics as a set of rules to follow, withserious consequences for anyone who breaks therules. While this is a common misperception, itis also a serious misunderstanding of ethics and

what an ethical action really is.Lists and codes can help shape and determine

the behavior of those in an organization, but theydo not, properly speaking, denote ethics. Ethics is

a system of reflecting on human behavior, a wayof defining and determining morality and moralactions.1 Ethics is not about which actions arepermitted or legal and which actions are not. Itis about human beings and their behavior towardeach other, and whether their actions are rightor wrong. Rules and laws can express moralpositions and shape human behavior, but ethicsis about far more than that. Rules about rightand wrong are useful summaries of agreed-uponethical reflections, but they are not the totality of

ethics. Ethics at its heart is about human beingsand human communities and determining whichactions are good and allow human beings to livetogether in peace and justice, and which actionssubvert that goal. Ethics is the critical reflec-tion on moral principles and what constitutes a


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eThIcs, MorALITy, And The sTudy oF reLIgIous eThIcs 7

morally correct or incorrect action. Ethical reflec-tion also helps one to apply moral principles tospecific actions.

If ethics is all about morality, the next obviousquestion is, what is morality? Morality concerns

our actions toward other people. Human beingsare valuable in and of themselves and have dignityand worth regardless of their station, race, creed,or economic situation. A moral action will respectother people as human beings, and in some real

way enhance or acknowledge their value anddignity as such. Conversely, an immoral action

will be disrespectful of the dignity and value ofhuman beings, or will harm or injure personsin some real way, even if that harm is evidentonly to those harmed. In actual discussions

about ethics and morality, the terms ethics andmorality or morals are often used interchangeably,although they mean slightly different things.

Ethics is the method of discernment, the waywe determine which actions are moral or immoral. We might view the relationship between ethicsand morality as similar to the relationship betweentheory and practice. Ethical reflection providesthe foundation for decision-making, the theorythat motivates human behavior. Morality puts the

theory formed in ethical reflection into practicethrough the choices we make in various situations.Since everyone must make moral decisions dailyabout many different human interactions, ethics isan essential part of human life, as necessary andimportant as breathing. We cannot stop thinkingor acting morally, just as we cannot stop breathingand yet continue to live.

In religious ethics, morality has anotherdimension. Many people live and make moraldecisions without a religious framework, but for

a believer in any religious tradition, ethics andmorality also serve as ways to live ones beliefs.

That is, moral actions are the way one activelydemonstrates the core values of ones religioustradition. A central moral question for believersis, how do I live in harmony with what I believe?

This makes religious ethics a vital part of eachreligious tradition, as crucial to that tradition asany other dogma or doctrine.

Moral Decision-Making

Many factors go into the process of moral dis-cernment and into each moral or ethical decision.Moral decisions are profoundly influenced by

who we are as human beings and by the factorsthat have formed and shaped us. As we learn andgrow, so too does our capacity for solid decision-making. In a very real way, our decisions are anexpression of our being of who we are and what

we value as much as they are decisions aboutactions. These decisions reflect our own think-

ing about how to act toward others, certainly,but they also reflect our upbringing, our culture,our religious faith, our families, our social andeconomic class, and the communities in which

we live. We all bring to moral decision-makingour particular view of the world, our place in the

world, and our understanding of how we oughtto treat other people in the world. All of thesefactors help form our attitudes toward others andour moral consciences. How much influence each

of these factors exercises on us varies from personto person, and whether these factors influenceus negatively or positively also varies. With theirmany teachings about right and wrong, about thehuman person and the meaning of human life,religious ethical systems are as much about who

we ought to be as about what we ought to do.

The Moral Conscience

In everyday thinking and discussions about ethics

or morality, the conscience is often mentioned.People are told to follow your conscience orto not act against your conscience. Even those

who spend little time thinking about ethics willhave some idea about what the conscience is andhow it works. Most can talk about the little voice


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inside my head, and many associate the termconsciencewith a sense of guilt or regret, especiallyfor actions they know were probably wrong.

A moral conscience is more than a naggingsense that we have done something wrong. It

is an awareness of moral values, however thosevalues are built.2 In some sense, conscience is theexpression of our deepest selves and the values

we hold. It is our conscience that tells us whichactions are right and wrong and guides ouractions. A well-formed conscience can sometimescompel a person to sacrifice for others, or to actagainst his or her own interests for the good ofothers, or for the general good of all people. Actsof bravery to save others from danger or acts ofsacrifice so that others may prosper are moti-

vated by the moral conscience. Conscience shiftsour focus beyond ourselves and asks us to lookat situations and actions in the context of otherhuman beings, their values, and their interests.

It takes a long time and a lot of input toform a conscience. All of the factors that shapeus as individuals also shape our conscience.For example, early in our formal schooling, weare taught values that will allow all students inour classrooms to get along and learn. Values

like sharing, waiting ones turn, and respectingother students property teach us that others areas important as we are. Once these values arelearned and internalized, our consciences becomeaware of and oriented toward other people andtheir needs and feelings.

Families and communities also teach moral values and offer us models of morally correctbehavior. Perhaps our best moral models are ourparents and other adults within our families andcommunities aunts and uncles, teachers, ser-

vice group leaders, coaches, and other adults withwhom we regularly interact. Observing how theytreat others, what they value in other people, andhow they expect to be treated teaches us whichactions are good and acceptable, and whichactions do not meet the standards of behavior

necessary for people to live together. A somewhatextreme example of how the actions of thesemoral models can have real and lasting effects onour consciences is found in the contrast betweenthe values of people raised in communities where

diversity is encouraged and accepted and thoseraised in communities that are exclusive andintolerant, such as a white supremacist commu-nity. The conscience of someone from the firsttype of community would likely be botheredby instances of intolerance and hatred, whereassomeone from the second type of communitymight well embrace those same actions withoutbeing bothered by conscience.

As our moral awareness grows, so does ourability to reflect on what we have learned. This

reflection, then, produces a specific response inus that will guide our actions in the future. When

we do not live up to the moral demands that wehave learned and internalized, we know we havedone wrong, and the conscience we have workedto develop bothers us.

Moral consciences can also be influenced bythe desire to learn and grow as human beings,and thereby develop better ways of acting towardothers. As people learn and grow, so do their

consciences. Consider, for example, the personraised in an exclusive and intolerant community. This person can grow beyond what he or shehas been taught and learn a new set of valuesthat shapes conscience in a different way. Onecommon example of learning that results in thereshaping of conscience is religious conversion.A convert from Buddhism to Islam, for example,

would have to learn and internalize a new setof guidelines and rules for human behavior andfor acting well toward others. In a sense, this

convert is becoming a different person by trans-forming his or her understanding of the worldand his or her place within that world. This newunderstanding will lead to new ways of acting,since new forces and understandings are at work

within the convert s moral conscience.


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Ones conscience is not, then, static. Itchanges as we change and grows as we grow.Developing ones moral awareness can be a dif-ficult task, requiring practice and attention. But itis also rewarding. For this reason, this task is often

undertaken, particularly by those who are seriousabout their religious tradition and interested indeepening their religious commitment.

The Role of Religious Traditions

All of the factors listed above family, com-munity, and so on strongly influence what

we decide to do in a given situation. For manypeople, religion and religious values rank amongthe most significant influences in their lives

and are the primary factor in the formationof their consciences. By their nature, religioustraditions impart values to their believers, andthese values can influence even those who donot believe in that specific religious tradition.

The values of the dominant religion in a culturecan affect the norms, or standards of behavior,of that culture as a whole. Moral norms influ-ence all human behavior toward others. Forexample, a Christian living in Japan will likely

be influenced by the values of cleanliness andpurity associated with the Shinto tradition,because those values have become a part ofthe larger Japanese culture and are difficult toescape. A Buddhist living in Israel will likelybe influenced by the values of Judaism thathave made their way into the Israeli laws andbroader culture, even though he or she doesnot believe as Jews believe. This person mightinternalize the Judaic value of rest and thesacredness of the Sabbath, a day of rest, as well

as many of the Judaic customs associated withfood that are meant to demonstrate the valueof the lives of the animals we eat. Escaping the

values of either the Shinto or Judaic tradition would prove virtually impossible while livingwhere those religious traditions are dominant.

Religious traditions are important to the for-mation of conscience because they help form andaddress questions about the meaning of human lifeand the meaning of actions toward human beings.In so doing, these traditions impart a certain view

of the world to their believers. Each tradition,for example, has its own view of time, goodness,evil, and the human person. This worldviewis as much an ethical system as a belief system,because it shapes behavior in ways that few otherfactors can. In addition to conscience, religiousfaith becomes entwined with many other fac-tors that influence behavior; family, education,culture, and even ones choice of friends canreinforce the teachings of a religious traditionand thereby increase the influence of that tradi-

tion. (An antipathy toward a certain religioustradition or religion in general can have the sameeffect, another instance where religion influenceseven those who do not believe in its teachings.)Because religion has such a strong influence onbehavior, studying and learning about the various

world religious traditions can give deep insightsinto why people act as they do and what valuestheir actions represent.

CATEGoRIESofETHICAlSySTEMS

Philosophers and theologians have developedseveral categories to broadly describe ethi-cal systems. These categories can be useful indescribing certain aspects of religious ethics,although most religious ethics defy easy catego-rization and are, in fact, a mix of many of thesetypes. Following are overviews of four suchcategories: deontology, consequentialism, virtue

ethics, and divine command ethics.

Deontology

Deontology is a category for moral or ethicalsystems that emphasizes doing what is right


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regardless of the situation or consequences; thiscategory highlights the basic duties and obliga-tions that human beings have to each other.Deontological ethics stresses that some actionshave fundamental meanings and intrinsic moral

values that do not depend on the consequencesof those actions, either for the people involved orfor the society as a whole, and those actions areessential for moral human behavior.3 For exam-ple, telling the truth may be a good regardlessof the consequences of telling the truth and istherefore a fundamental obligation of all humanbeings. Each of the moral duties or obligations inthis category is important for individual humanbeings and the whole human community.

The duties described in most deontological

systems are those that affect the primary relation-ships in human lives: relationships with the peopleclosest to us and with those who make up thesociety in which we live. These duties can eitherbe prescriptions, which specify what we must do,or prohibitions, which tell us what we must not do.

They can be ascertained from the general moralnorms of society and also through our reflectionon what constitutes proper action. According todeontology, although the right action does not

always produce happiness for individuals, onemust act properly anyway. Thus, although what isright does not always produce what is perceivedas good for the individual, this does not negatethe obligation to follow the rule under all circum-stances. For example, according to deontologicalethics, one must tell the truth in all circumstances,even when the truth will bring about punishmentor another unwanted consequence for oneself.

The action of telling the truth upholds the obliga-tions of society; one is therefore always required

to follow the rule, even though the consequencesmay seem bad from ones own perspective.

Immanuel Kant (1724 1804) is probably thebest known of the deontological moral philoso-phers. He believed that morality is a principle ofhuman reason and that there are moral absolutes

that all human beings can know through the useof reason. The most famous of his moral pro-nouncements is that of the categorical impera-tive, an unconditional moral law that states: Actonly according to that maxim whereby you can

at the same time will that it should become auniversal law.4 In essence, one should only dothose things we wish everyone would do. Suchactions derive from the moral laws, and they areperformed out of the pure intention to act mor-ally, without regard to the ensuing consequences.

Consequentialism

Although it is tempting to think of consequen-tialism as the opposite of deontology, in reality

both categories encompass ethical systems thataim to ensure the good for many, if not all,human beings, especially those to whom we areclosest. Consequentialist theories and systemsemphasize that what is good must also be whatis right, and that we can know what is both goodand right by looking toward the consequences ofour actions. The probable outcome of an action,then, determines whether that action is moralor immoral. Actions that may be deemed right

under deontology but that produce an outcomethat is not good, cannot be morally correctunder a consequentialist system.

Probably the most widely used consequential-ist system is that of utilitarianism, first developedby philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John StuartMill. Utilitarianism advocates that the rightnessor wrongness of an action be judged by whetherit produces the greatest possible benefit for thegreatest number of people.5 This is usually sum-marized as the greatest good for the greatest

number. The greatest good maximizes thosethings that bring about good consequences andhuman flourishing, and minimizes those thingsthat do not.

Consequentialism proposes that certain con-cepts and actions, primarily those that produce


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good for many human beings, should be appliedto human behavior. Concepts and actions thatproduce good, especially good for many, canbe considered rules for human behavior; theseloosely interpreted rules become the norms of a

morally oriented society. These rules or guide-lines can change. As the real consequences ofrules or guidelines become clearer, they shift andgravitate toward those concepts and actions thatproduce the greatest good.

Virtue Ethics

A third category of moral systems is virtue eth-ics. Virtue ethics focuses on the developmentof certain virtues, or praiseworthy traits, within

the individual. A persons actions will then flowfrom those virtues. Cultivating the virtues understanding them and internalizing theirdeep meaning and then acting from themensures that ones actions are morally correctand promote human flourishing. The develop-ment of a virtuous character insures that peoplecan act morally by habit, as morally correctpatterns of behavior are practiced and becomea part of that persons consistent approach to

moral problems and questions. Virtues differfrom emotions in that they are reliable, fixedstandards for action and constitute the wholeof a persons character when properly nurturedand developed.

There is considerable debate about whichtraits constitute virtues, and the writing onthis subject is voluminous. Most often, argu-ments about virtue revolve around the defini-tion of the named virtue for example, whatis temperance? and the interpretation of

what that virtue entails does temperancemean refraining from alcohol? Because ofthese debates, virtue ethics fell somewhat outof favor during and after the Enlightenment,but it experienced a resurgence in the latterhalf of the twentieth century.

Virtue ethics in Western thought stretchesback to Aristotle in the fourth century BCE (inChinese thought it goes back even further). Aris-totle advocated the development of the virtuesas the way to moral actions. He described the

virtues courage, temperance, generosity, friend-ship, and so on as the path halfway betweentwo extremes of action. Courage, for example,is the mean between rash actions and cowardlyones.6 Aristotle believed virtuous actions wouldflow from a virtuous character. For virtue ethi-cists, the most important question is not, whatshould I do? but, who should I be? Who I am willdetermine which actions I take or do not take.

Divine Command EthicsAnother category of ethics that is sometimesincluded in discussions of religious ethics isdivine command ethics. This view of ethics isnot accepted as valid by all scholars, but is men-tioned here as it sometimes appears in discus-sions of religious ethics. Divine command ethicsis the view that morality is dependent on the willof God, that God commands what is good andprohibits what is evil. The morality or immoral-

ity of an action cannot be evaluated apart fromGod and Gods commandments. This form ofethics would only apply, then, to religious ethi-cal systems that are associated with a God whogives commandments to human beings, suchas Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Buddhism,

which does not express a belief in this type ofdivine being or god, could not be evaluated usingdivine command ethics.

Categories and ComparativeReligious Ethics

Although these categories have long been usedto describe different theories of ethics andethical systems, they emphasize only individualaspects of religious ethical systems. Most ethical


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systems have elements of all three of these cat-egories, however, and religious ethical systems inparticular do not fit neatly into any classification.

Judaism, for example, lists a great many rules formoral conduct in the Torah and explains these

rules in the Talmud. But this does not makeJudaism a deontological system that is set apartfrom a consequentialist or virtue ethics system,for Judaism also emphasizes what it takes to bea good person and a faithful believer. Similarly,Buddhism emphasizes virtues as well as dutiesand obligations, the latter of which are manyand varied.

In some ways, the categories discussed abovecan be seen as complementing each other and thuscan add to our understanding of religious ethics.

Instead of struggling to fit the moral concepts ofeach religious tradition into one of these classifi-cations, it is more helpful to identify the elementsof each category that exist in each religious moralsystem. This enhances the understanding of notonly the individual aspects of each tradition butof the traditions overall as well.

CoMPARATIvEMETHodS

Method is the term used to describe a givenapproach to studying the material of religiousethics. Because comparative religious ethics isa relatively young discipline, no one method isconsidered by scholars as the best way to studydiverse moral traditions. Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of studying religious ethics,it is likely that many different approaches to thesubject will continue to be accepted as positivecontributions. New approaches may also arise

that contribute new perspectives to the field asit matures.7 There are many ways to approachthe task of studying religious ethics. For ourpurposes, we can separate these methods intotwo loosely related groups: descriptive methodsand conceptual methods.

Descriptive Methods

The first of the descriptive methods might becalled the direct approach or compare andcontrast.8 In this method, one simply looks atthe different responses to the same moral issuefrom the perspective of the various traditions.Probably the most common approach to com-parative ethics, this method is simple, direct,and easy to follow. Answering a single questionor analyzing the same moral problem from theperspectives of the different traditions allowsone to see clearly the similarities and differ-ences between them. However, this approach islimited because it focuses only on the specificproblem or question being considered and not

on the more general moral sense permeatingeach tradition.

A second way to approach comparative reli-gious study is the descriptive-conceptual approach.Closely related to the direct or compare-and-contrast approach, the descriptive-conceptualapproach simply describes each tradition and itsmajor moral concepts in a neutral way. Used bymost world religions textbooks, the descriptive-conceptual method attempts to inform and

explain, not make judgments about which religioustradition better understands a specific moral situ-ation. This is a good approach for beginners, buta deeper understanding of the moral traditions ofthe worlds religions requires greater investigationand more complex moral thinking.

Another method for comparing religiousethics uses case studies. Case studies differ fromthe moral questions considered in the direct orcompare-and-contrast approach, because casestudies are more complex and involve layers

of moral inquiry and the actions of multipledecision-makers. These case studies resemblethose used in the fields of sociology or psy-chology or ethnographic studies. Case studiesin comparative religious ethics often highlightspecific moral questions, not broader issues.


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For example, a religious ethics case study mightpresent a situation that asks questions aboutthe treatment of a person in a nursing home.

The responses with this approach would per-tain only to the facts of that particular case, not

the underlying moral issues associated with theadministration and need for nursing homes.Case studies make for compelling reading

and offer many ways to gain insight into particu-lar moral problems. They also more accuratelydescribe real-life moral dilemmas than any otherapproach, because the questions presented derivefrom real situations and do not simplify the moraldilemmas for the sake of presenting a particular

worldview or opinion. In addition, case studiesoffer many avenues for discussion and debate

about principles, moral thinking, and the inter-play between diverse opinions within the sametradition. The drawback to this approach is itscomplexity; one can become mired in the detailsof each case without being able to stand backand see the larger picture involving the religioustradition and its moral views.

Conceptual Methods

In contrast to the descriptive methods notedabove, conceptual methods focus less on detailand more on broad moral concepts that illustratethe tradition. This does not mean detail is unim-portant to conceptual approaches; indeed, detailcan serve to highlight broad moral concepts.

One conceptual method is the narrativeapproach, which uses stories and examples toillustrate the moral convictions of each tradi-tion. These stories and examples usually aretaken from the scriptures of each tradition or

from moral stories told within the tradition.Stories exemplary of Hinduism, for example,might include readings from the Vedas and theBhagavad Gita, as well as stories about the lifeof Gandhi and other important Hindus. A sec-tion on Christianity would include stories about

Jesus from the Gospels and from other earlyChristian writings and would likely includestories about John Wesley, Pope John Paul II, orMartin Luther King Jr.

A narrative approach has many strengths.

Telling the stories of the ethical traditions ofthe worlds religions, using their own narra-tives, is a good way to communicate some of thebasic concepts and values of those traditions.It makes interesting reading and offers manyavenues to further study. The main weakness ofthis approach is that all traditions have scoresof stories, all of which are necessary to give acomplete picture of the tradition. Most tradi-tions encompass such diversity that only oneaspect of the whole can be properly highlighted.

For example, in illustrating the Buddhist idealof social engagement and action for the goodof the community, does one choose the story ofthe monks who protested the war in Vietnam,the more recent political actions advocated bysome monks in Sri Lanka and Burma, or one ofthe many instances of oppression of Buddhistsin China? Each tells a story of Buddhism, butnone offers the whole picture.

The historical-conceptual approach is an-

other way to compare religious ethics. Thismethod looks at the major moral concepts ofeach tradition and analyzes how they developedhistorically, with an eye toward applying thoseconcepts to similar contemporary problems.

This approach is useful for studying the develop-ment of the moral theory behind each tradition,and then attempting to relate that theoreticalframework to modern situations. Additionally,this method locates moral responses withinthe entire context of the tradition, not just one

modern aspect of it. This is important becauseit lends historical perspective to modern moralproblems and provides avenues for exploringthe consequences of moral actions based on his-torical data that other methods cannot. This cangreatly expand our knowledge of the analysis of


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moral problems within that tradition and providea deeper understanding of the basic concepts ofthe tradition.

The historical-conceptual approach alsoprovides insights that can develop and expand

the understanding of the religious traditionitself, even beyond its moral precepts. Investigat-ing the development of moral theory can lendinsight into the lives of important figures, forexample, or demonstrate how conflicts betweengroups often led to the development of differentmoral trajectories over time. It can also deepenones understanding of the genesis of religiouscommunities and divisions within a religioustradition. One example of this is the develop-ment of the principle of nonviolence in the

Hindu tradition and the influence those teach-ings had on Mohandas Gandhi. His adoptionof this religious principle tells us a great dealabout Gandhi, as does his later translation of thereligious principle into a political principle. Thepolitical power of the principle of nonviolencein a society dominated by Hinduism also offerssignificant insight into how Hinduism itself

works in the lives of believers. The actions ofmany people during the Indian war for indepen-

dence from Britain, in which the nonviolenceof Gandhi played a large part, illustrates theconflict between differing views of violence,nonviolence, justice, and oppression within theHindu tradition.

One major drawback to the historical-conceptual approach is that it remains rooted inthe past and in the conflicts and moral ques-tions of the past. It is often difficult to bringhistorical responses to problems into dialogue

with contemporary problems. Moral problems

are rooted in specific situations, and how peoplerespond to these problems is also rooted inparticular contexts. The modern world and itsproblems sometimes differ greatly from thehistorical situations and questions that eachtradition has faced. For example, questions of

medical ethics within each religious traditionchanged tremendously in the twentieth centuryas medical technology enabled new treatmentsand cures. The historical-conceptual approachcan lend insight into these emerging problems

but cannot completely address all of the issuesinvolving new technologies.A final method for comparative study, at

least for the purposes of this book, is the inter-religious dialogue approach. This method seesthe task of comparative religious ethics as anopportunity for cross-cultural understandingand dialogue among religious traditions. Thisapproach accepts the pluralism of the modern

world the diversity of religious thinking andmoral values that live in close proximity to

each other and seeks to bring discussion andunderstanding between religious groups to bearon common moral problems. The search forcommon ground in addressing moral problemsthat affect society is aided by dialogue betweenreligious traditions and also by dialogue betweenreligion and secular elements in society: atheists,nontheists, and humanists, for example. Theinterreligious dialogue approach acknowledgesall perspectives as important for addressing

moral problems, especially those problems thataffect all people in a society. While it remainsrooted in the study of religion and its generalmoral imperatives, this approach views compara-tive study as a vehicle for social transformationthrough understanding.

A major benefit of interreligious dialogueis the opportunity it offers for different groupsto learn about each others religious traditions,

worldviews, and concepts of ethics and moralbehavior. Dialogue and study can draw out many

similarities in moral thinking and can bringmembers of diverse communities closer together.A drawback, of course, is that dialogue can alsohighlight differences in moral understanding,some of which may be strong and may producemore conflict than consensus.


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The Ongoing Development

of Method

These are not the only methods for study-ing religious ethics. Many different methodsare used and others are still being developed.Some newer methods focus on the variousreligious traditions from a feminist perspective,honing in on the ethical aspects of the tradi-tion in relation to women and the treatmentof women. Some of the newest methods areecologically oriented and consider how eachtradition views the earth and ones responsibil-ity to it. There are also methods that examinereligious traditions, conflicts, and moral actionsin a particular geographical context, inspecting

one country or region in the world and the inter-play between different religious understandingsin that area.

All of these are valid approaches to study-ing religious ethics, primarily because the task of

comparative religious ethics cannot be containedentirely in one method. Different approaches arealso complementary; realistically speaking, noone method can productively stand alone withoutinsight from many of the others. The narrativeapproach, for example, relies on the insightsof the historical-conceptual approach, whichin turn draws from the descriptive-conceptualapproach. In the same way, the interreligiousdialogue approach must draw from several othersto accomplish its goals.

Conclusion

Ethics and morality are closely related, andbecause both concern human behavior, the termsare usually interchangeable. Many forces, includ-ing our families, communities, and teachers, shapeour moral conscience. Of all of the influencesthat form who we are and what we do, religion is

among the most powerful and is a potent force inthe formation of the moral conscience.

As we have seen, numerous methods existfor the study of comparative religious ethics,although distinctions between them are some-

what artificial since each method complementsthe others. The following chapters will examine

various religious traditions and the foundations

of ethics within these traditions.

Discussion Questions

1. Think about all of the factors in your own life: your family, community, friends, religion, and soon. Which ones have been the most influential in forming your conscience? Could any of thesefactors be considered equally influential for all people?

2. Scholars have voiced different goals for studying religious ethics. Consider the different methods

described in this chapter. What do you think should be the goal of the study of religious ethics?How would you accomplish this goal?

3. Do you agree or disagree that ethics is an essential part of human life, a part of being human?Is it possible to escape the responsibility of moral decision-making?

4. What is the relationship between religious ethics and the broader secular culture? In youropinion, is this a good relationship or a bad one?


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5. In an American context, do you think the values of the Judeo-Christian tradition can becompletely removed from the public sphere?

6. Consider the methods of studying religious ethics discussed in this chapter. What other per-spectives might shed more light on religious ethics and how it operates in the world?

7. In light of the many differences between religious traditions, can moral systems be validly

compared? Why or why not? 8. What are some of the intellectual dangers in engaging in the task of comparing religious

ethical systems?

9. What role does the religious faith of the scholar play in studying religious ethics?

10. Are there any religious traditions or groups of which you are aware that would not be goodcandidates for comparative religious study? Why would these traditions make poor subjectsfor comparative study?

For Further Study

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Terence

Irwin. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 1985.

Fasching, Darrel J., and Dell Dechant. Comparative

Religious Ethics: A Narrative Approach. Oxford;Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2001.

Johnson, Oliver A., and Andrew Reath.Ethics: Selections

from Classic and Contemporary Writers. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth, 2007.

Maguire, Daniel C., and A. Nicholas Fargnoli. On

Moral Grounds: The Art, Science of Ethics. New York:Crossroad, 1991.

Mill, John Stuart, and Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism

and Other Essays. Edited by Alan Ryan. New York:

Penguin Books, 1987.

Morgan, Peggy, and Clive Lawton, eds.Ethical Issuesin Six Religious Traditions. Edinburgh: EdinburghUniversity Press, 2007.

Twiss, Sumner B., and Bruce Grelle, eds.Explorations

in Global Ethics: Comparative Religious Ethics and Interreligious Dialogue. Boulder, CO: WestviewPress, 1998.

Notes

1. Daniel C. Maguire and A. Nicholas Fargnoli, On Moral Grounds: The Art, Science of Ethics (New York:

Crossroad, 1991), 7.

2. Maguire and Fargnoli,On Moral Grounds, 146.

3. Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker, eds.

Encyclopedia of Ethics(New York: Routledge, 2001).

4. Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals, ed. Mary

J. Gregor (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1996), 17.

5. John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, Utilitarian-ism and Other Essays, ed. Alan Ryan (New York: Pen-guin Books, 1987), 145.

6. Aristotle,Nicomachean Ethics, book II, trans. TerenceIrwin (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 1985).

7. Elizabeth M. Bucar, Methodological Invention as

a Constructive Project,Journal of Religious Ethics 36(3): 355 73.

8. The descriptions and categories of methods thatfollow are my own assessment of the work currentlybeing done in comparative religious ethics. Every per-

son who writes about comparative ethics and methodswill have his or her own list, which may differ signifi-

cantly from this one.

Documents

Moral Traditions