Religion & Morality: Faith and the Modern World

Religion & Morality: Faith and the Modern World, a compendium to a previous work and used in HUM 335, examines not the historical development of religion, but rather the exercise of each religion in the contemporary context of ethical dilemmas. It asks the question, does religion make people moral? Does practicing religion give one a sense of a moral compass? And, how is it that the traditional religions of Abrahamic origin claim to be forms of ethical monotheism? The truth is, in our contemporary context, there seem to be abundant examples of where this is not the case—where, in fact, religion is used as a conduit for self-serving preservation at best and as a vehicle for hatred and violence at worst. This compendium to the Introduction to the Study of World Religions puts all of this into perspective, looking at contemporary examples of where the rub between religion and the ethical dilemmas of our modern age create an intolerable friction. Author, Dr. Mark David Luttio, spent his sabbatical in Spring 2017 examining these issues as he traversed the globe, spending time in the epicenters of the world’s religions. Course: HUM 420 (Fall 2019)