SACreligiousEd

The Enlightenment transformed the way people thought about various moral issues. As traditional forms of thought were challenged and a human rights culture emerged, interpretation of previously acceptable practices like war and capital punishment changed dramatically. Pre-Enlightenment capital punishment is widely accepted as a legitimate means of dealing with serious crimes. It is seen as a form of self-defence, a means of society protecting itself against dangerous individuals. After the Enlightenment, and more specifically the Reformation, there is a movement towards a much more forgiving attitude in Christianity. Jesus is gracious and forgiving towards the sinner (condemn the sin, forgive the sinner). Every human life has dignity, no matter what they do. Society has no right to take that life from them. Attitudes to war have seen a similar transformation, with the religious justification, in the form the Just War Theory of Thomas Aquinas and Francisco Suarez, giving way to t...

All religious traditions have specific moral visions. They outline what constitutes the good life, and how to live our lives responsibly and ethically. Both Judaism and Islam are monotheistic faiths – committed to belief in one God. They believe that God, through the process of divine revelation had given instructions on how to live our lives. Past Exam Question Outline the principles of the ethical systems of two non-Christian religious traditions In Judaism morality is part of a person’s relationship with God. The God that is portrayed in the Hebrew Scriptures is a God who seeks repentance and desires justice. The God of Justice is a powerful theme in scripture: personal and social injustices are condemned as sinful, in the psalms we hear a cry for justice in the community, and God is concerned for the powerless – suggesting that the community must take care of the poor. The Torah (which comprises the first five books of the Bible) tells of God’s actions for the people and ...

Early civilisations, like the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans, played a major role in setting the agenda for Western civilization, and their ideas have an enduring influence on the Western mind-set. Each civilisation had clear ethical concerns, shaped by their experience of the world Past Exam Question The Hebrews, The Greeks, The Romans : Outline how a moral issue caused concern for two of the above ancient civilisations. By exploring the moral concerns of these ancient societies it becomes apparent that morality is a human phenomenon common to every age and generation. The above groups have had an enduring influence on western civilisation and their moral concerns, though shaped by the context of their time, have formed the basis of our contemporary sense of morality. With regard to the Hebrews it’s clear that their chief moral concerns are informed by their experiences of persecution throughout the ages. Freedom and justice are fundamental rights for the Hebrews, precisely...

In the medieval world communal values were shaped, almost exclusively, by institutional religion. In the case of mainland Europe Christianity cast a particularly long shadow – dictating cultural and behaviour norms, as well as codes of ethics and moral theories.  The Enlightenment heralded the emergence of a secular worldview – and in doing so, severed links between values and religious belief. Beginning in the 16th century we can identify a number of cultural changes that led to the development of non-religious communal values. Past Exam Question The development of non-religious communal values can be traced back to moments such as the rise of humanism, existentialism etc. Profile how any two such moments contributed to the development of non-religious communal values Renaissance The Renaissance is a time of innovation in the arts and human sciences. It represented a 'rebirth’ after the long slumber of the dark ages. The scientific discoveries of Co...

Past Exam Question The existence of God is something about which I cannot be certain. Outline what you think Anselm and Aquinas would each say in response to the above statement. Both Anselm and Aquinas believed it was possible to prove God’s existence through the application of reason and logic. St Anselm was an 11th century Christian theologian who believed he could prove God’s existence by looking very carefully at the idea of God. St Thomas Aquinas was a 13th century C hristian philosopher and we encounter his ideas in other areas of the course. Ontological argument Anselm begins by asking; what do we mean by God? For Anselm the term ‘God’ refers to that than w hich nothing greater can be conceived – this essentially means that God is the most perfect being t hat can be imagined. Secondly, Anselm affirms that existence in reality is greater than existence in understanding. Things that exist in the imagination only are lesser. Therefore, perfectio...

Monotheism occupies a peculiar place in the global faith landscape. Among the endless variety of religious devotions and practices found throughout the world, only three are monotheistic: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. However, these three religions account for roughly 55% of the world’s population, and therefore the concept of devotion to a single divine figure looms large in the popular imagination.  Prior to the emergence of monotheism, polytheism was the norm. Most ancient societies believed in spiritual beings, greater than humankind, who controlled the elements. Sometimes these conceptions of God were heavily personified as in Ancient Egypt and Babylonia, but they were often abstract concepts that resisted the temptation to personify divinity. Past Exam Question Profile one example of how a monotheistic understanding of God developed in a context where polytheism was widespread. Monotheism emerged in the ancient near-East, over 4,000 years ago....

There is an unprecedented spiritual hunger in our times. The increasingly irrelevance of religion in contemporary culture may be perceived as evidence of a lack of interest in spirituality. However, it could be argued that the disappearance of religious institutions and the erosion of a shared religious identity has created a spiritual hunger in modern Ireland. Past Exam Question In society today an interest in spirituality can be seen in different ways. Assess the evidence for this statement making reference to two ways that an interest in spirituality can be seen in the lives of people today. Eastern spirtuality In the absence of traditional forms of worship an increased interest in Eastern spiritual practices is evident. This may be seen as a mystical approach, desiring to interpret mystery outside of organized religion and restrictive moral codes. One can clearly see why Buddhism (more akin to a philosophy than an institutional religion) would seem more appealing in our inc...