Religious Ethics - by William Schweiker & David A Clairmont (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book is the result of years of collaboration between the authors on work in religious ethics. The collaboration started when we published the first edition of The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics with William Schweiker as editor and David Clairmont as project assistant. Through the encouragement of our publisher, Rebecca Harkin of Wiley-Blackwell, it was decided that a basic text was needed on the meaning and method of religious ethics, and, further, a book that could be used in connection with the Companion at several levels of academic instruction: undergraduate, graduate, and in the training of religious leaders. Religious Ethics: Meaning and Method is that book. It elaborates and expounds the account of religious ethics developed by William Schweiker as a multidimensional theory of the religious and moral life for our global times"--

Book Synopsis

An inclusive and innovative account of religious ethical thinking and acting in the world.

Rather than merely applying existing forms of philosophical ethics, Religious Ethics defines the meaning of the field and presents a distinct and original method for ethical reflection through comparisons of world religious traditions. Written by leading scholars and educators in the field, this unique volume offers an innovative approach that reveals how religions concur and differ on moral matters, and provides practical guidance on thinking and living ethically.

The book's innovative method--integrating descriptive, normative, practical, fundamental, and metaethical dimensions of reflection--enables a far more complex and nuanced exploration of religious ethics than any single philosophical language, method, or theory can equal. First introducing the task of religious ethics, the book moves through each of the five dimensions of reflection to compare concepts such as good and evil, perplexity and wisdom, truth and illusion, and freedom and bondage in various theological contexts.

• Guides readers on understanding, assessing, and comparing the moral teachings and practices of world religions
• Applies a disciplined, scholarly approach to the subject of religious ethics
• Explores the distinctions between religious ethics and moral philosophy
• Provides a methodology which can be applied to comparative ethics for various religions
• Compares religious traditions to illuminate each of the five dimensions of ethical and moral reflection

Religious Ethics: Meaning and Method will help anyone interested in the relation between religion and ethics in the modern world, including those involved in general and comparative religion studies, religious and comparative ethics, and moral theory.

From the Back Cover

An inclusive and innovative account of religious ethical thinking and acting in the world

Rather than merely applying existing forms of philosophical ethics, Religious Ethics defines the meaning of the field and presents a distinct and original method for ethical reflection through comparisons of world religious traditions. Written by leading scholars and educators in the field, this unique volume offers an innovative approach that reveals how religions concur and differ on moral matters, and provides practical guidance on thinking and living ethically.

The book's innovative method--integrating descriptive, normative, practical, fundamental, and metaethical dimensions of reflection--enables a far more complex and nuanced exploration of religious ethics than any single philosophical language, method, or theory. First introducing the task of religious ethics, the narrative moves through each of the five dimensions of reflection to compare concepts such as good and evil, perplexity and wisdom, truth and illusion, and freedom and bondage in various theological contexts. In summary, this unique and thoroughly original text:

• Guides readers on understanding, assessing, and comparing the moral teachings and practices of world religions
• Applies a disciplined, scholarly approach to the subject of religious ethics
• Explores the distinctions between religious ethics and moral philosophy
• Provides a methodology which can be applied to comparative ethics for various religions
• Compares religious traditions to illuminate each of the five dimensions of ethical and moral reflection

Religious Ethics: Meaning and Method will help anyone interested in the relation between religion and ethics in the modern world, including those involved in general and comparative religion studies, religious and comparative ethics, and moral theory.

About the Author

WILLIAM SCHWEIKER is Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chicago. He is past President of the Society of Christian Ethics, and author of several books including Theological Ethics and Global Dynamics, nominated for the prestigious Grawemeyer Award.

DAVID A. CLAIRMONT is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, and is author of Moral Struggle and Religious Ethics. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.