 Ethics and Religion

Ethics:



A system of moral principles, a way of deciding what is right and wrong.
Hedonism - belief that the goal of human life is pursuit of pleasure, avoidance of pain and fulfillment of physical needs and desires.
Asceticism - an approach to life emphasizing discipline and impulse control.




Legalism - following a moral law or set of principles.
Situationism - based on human experience, and in matters of sexual morality, tends to focus on relationships rather than rules.
Few ethical systems are purely hedonistic or ascetic or entirely legalistic or situationist - most lie between these extremes.

 Classical Greek philosophy - violent passion must be avoided to achieve wisdom and cultivate virtue.
 Pederasty - a sexual relationship between an older man and a younger one.



Judaism - sex seen as a deep and intimate part of a relationship between two people.
Hebrew scriptures see sexual behavior as an aspect of
national and religious loyalty.
 Fertility cult
 A form of nature-based religion
 Fertility of the soil is encouraged through various forms of ritual magic
 Often includes ritual sexual intercourse

Christianity:
 The goal of life is to become purely spiritual by transcending the physical
 and material side of life.
Serious Christians revolted against the corrupt and worldly church of the


Roman Empire and began to practice forms of self-denial that included celibacy .
It is difficult, however, to derive a sexual ethic from the Gospels alone.
Puritanism - emphasized the doctrine of “original sin” and the “total depravity” of fallen humanity.

Humanism:
 A philosophical system which:
 Denies a divine origin for morality.
 Holds that ethical judgments must be made on the basis of human experience and human reason.
Islam:
 Classical Islam values sexuality very positively:
 Muhammad saw intercourse in marriage as the highest good in human life.
 Sex outside marriage is viewed as a sin.
 Islamic law encourages contraception.


Hinduism:
The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana is a masterpiece of erotic hedonism.
Buddhism:



Therevada - Includes strict nonindulgence of desires that bring joy.
Mahayana - Ethics are more active and directed toward love of others.
Tantric Buddhism - Teaches that sexual desire can be overcome while engaging in intercourse.

Sex outside marriage:


Fornication - Sex before marriage.
Adultery (extramarital sex) - Sex by persons married to others.
 Has always been regarded as a grave matter in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Contraception:
 Roman Catholics and Orthodox Jews oppose any “artificial” means of contraception.
 Other Jews and most Protestants favor responsible family planning by married couples.

Abortion:




One of the most convulsive debates of our time.
Absolute - Pregnancy is solely the concern of a woman.
Modified - Suggests there may be many situations in which abortion is the least bad choice.
Therapeutic abortion - termination of pregnancy when life or mental health of the woman is threatened or in cases of trauma, such as incest or rape.

Homosexuality:


Rejectionism - Opposes any sexual acts between persons of the same gender.
Modified rejection or qualified acceptance - Regards homosexual orientation as morally neutral but rejects homosexual acts.

AIDS:
 Has raised a host of complex and difficult ethical issues for individuals,
 religious communities, and society as a whole.
Religious responses range from declaring AIDS to be God’s punishment on sinners to actively organizing to minister to persons with AIDS.


Cloning:
 Somatic cell nuclear transfer -
 Involves substituting the genetic material from an adult’s cell for the nucleus in an egg.
Therapeutic cloning - Creating tissues or cells that are genetically identical to those of a patient, to treat a disease .