Environmental Ethics

ET-631-2

The Native American "Tale of Two Wolves" tells of two evenly matched wolves in a battle. One is evil, greedy, arrogant, lying, and full of fear. The other is good filled with love, hope, compassion, and integrity. The question is: which one will win? The sage's answer: the one we feed.

The study of environmental ethics can easily devolve into a spiral of pessimism, given the unprecedented challenges we face regarding the climate crisis and other ecological threats to the well-being of our planet. We are tempted to "feed the wrong wolf" and give into despair and a fatalistic resignation. Therefore, we will explore religious, philosophical, and environmental perspectives to help us understand the roots of the crises, as well as search for resources to help us "feed the good wolf." This course will equip students to work toward faith-based approaches to environmental ethics focused on justice and building community.

Nones Religion: Understanding and Addressing the Religiously Unaffiliated Population

RS-612-1

The numbers of persons in America who say they have no religious affiliation has risen dramatically over the past 20 years. Currently over 20 percent of the country, and 35 percent of younger generations, are designated as the "nones." Religious communities and leaders need to understand this dynamic and the people who hold this "fastest growing" religious identity to be effective in ministry into the future. This course will explore the phenomenon, discuss the social, psychological and spiritual research on the nonaffiliated and how they are similar and different from Atheists, Agnostics and the "spiritual but not religious." The course will include field trips and research efforts as well as readings and guest speakers to better understand this important development on the religious landscape.

Muslim-Christian Conflict or Cooperation: The Politics of Interpreting Our Shared Past

HI-619

The interpretation of Islam and Christian-Muslim encounters has become highly politicized, ideological, and controversial. Islam and Christianity have been described as either sibling children of Abraham sharing much in common or part of a monolithic clash of incompatible civilizations. This course will survey the history of Christian-Muslim relations, giving attention to how contemporary events shape our memories of past events and identities. Students will examine the origins of the encounter, the diversity of historical contexts, and interpretive frameworks to provide tools to develop their own critical perspectives on Christian-Muslim relations for contemporary public engagement.