Moral and Ethical Issues

For many people, religion and morality are the same thing; for example, they may say things like “She behaves in a really Christian way”. It is true that all religions have codes that present what they teach in the field of morality, but it should not be assumed that being religious necessarily means that people will be good or have good manners. Sometimes, being moral in a religious sense may mean going against the grain of contemporary society. Many religious people are, for example, opposed to abortion on religious grounds. There are others who conscientiously object to war – some even withhold that proportion of their taxes which would be used to fund the arms trade. Others would argue that capital punishment is God’s ultimate sanction for those who break society’s norms.

So, even if religion and morality are not equated, it is reasonable to examine ethical issues in religious education. Experience shows that young people like the opportunity to wrestle with complex human problems within the confines of a classroom setting. You are therefore encouraged to try out some of this material; there is enough here, with careful planning, to make at least a whole term’s work.

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Whether a person follows the moral teachings of the Buddha as exemplified by the Noble Eightfold Path, or does the will of Allah recorded in the Shari’ah law, or obeys the Ten Commandments shared by Jews and Christians is a matter for them and their conscience. This series of units encourages students to:

• think for themselves about a number of complex issues
• explore the arguments presented by people of faith and of no faith
• develop the capacity to present their own ideas to a mixed audience and to seek evidence for arguments they may be making with peers in class.

At a very simple level, these units encourage students to begin to think and work philosophically, and not just instinctively or emotively.