Religion and Ethics Final

Describe different strategies we discussed for mitigating conflict over disagreements over ethical and religious commitments that arise in diverse societies.

Strategies for mitigating conflict: synthesis strategy (taking multiple different frameworks and combining into one), impositional (take one existing framework and impose it on the world and replace old systems everywhere else), reducing non-shared commitments (eliminate any topics where different frameworks differ in opinions from politics and only use the topics that all can agree on)

Describe one of the universalist or syncretist models of globalization we studied (early Chinese and Maya, for example)

1. Chinese Models

   1. Pluralism

      1. “One within many”- There is one overall truth within each form of thinking and commitments

   2. Convergence

      1. “Reinterpret” and combine systems (find where frameworks connect and form one shared thinking)

2. Maya Model

   1. Each system represents a transcendent unconceptualized “ground of being”

      1. All systems have a shared basis of truth (similar to pluralism)

What are some ways we have seen that warfare is justified within originally pacifistic religious frameworks?

1. Commitment to well-being, peace, and avoidance of harm… may require violence to maintain

2. Augustine- power of the state is given by God, state has responsibility to defend peace due to this power

3. Buddhism- enlightenment is only possible through dharma and Buddhist teachings, when there is existential threat to dharma… this justifies violence

How does AbuKhalil understand the role of historical conflicts in understanding views in the primarily Islamic societies of “Westernization” today?

1. Globalization is often just thought of as colonization, or to impose religious frameworks

   1. economic globalization is not “innocent” of religious commitments

      1. These two things are why we find a general rejection of western molds of globalization

How was the issue of race dealt with in 19th and 20th century Christian frameworks in the US according to the readings we looked at?’

1.  Slavery in Christian context (Two major views in 19th century US Christianity)

   1. Pro and anti-slavery

      1. Grounded commitments in scripture

   2. Conceptions of racial hierarchy

Describe the role issues of race and ethnicity played in one of the American new religious movements we looked at.

Describe the role of issues of race and ethnicity in a US religious movement (The Shakers)

How, according to the authors we read on the topic, have certain issues in sexual ethics gained such a central role in religious identity and social debates involving religious frameworks?

1. Lawrence

   1. Anti-sexuality stance used early on to distinguish Christian community from others

   2. Sexual ethics is an easy concept to follow, is useful to mark identity as a Christian

2. Miller

   1. Views on sexuality change as society changes

3. Ludden

   1. Connection between religion and “sexual conservatism” (no sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman)