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Religions
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Ethics and Religion: Education towards Religious and Human Values
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Ethics and Religion: Education towards Religious and Human Values

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Humanities/Philosophies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 8058

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Carl-Mario Sultana

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Theology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
Interests: Catholic religious education; Catechetics; methodology in education for the faith

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Religions is dedicated to the relationship of ethics with religion within an educational perspective. The ethical, religious and values formation of the contemporary human being is a very important aspect not only for the Catholic Church, but also for society at large. Due to the process of secularisation, this formation is facing a myriad of challenges which need to be addressed not only to safeguard ethical teaching in itself, but also to safeguard the interest of human beings who are the front-office users who suffer most when ethical formation is lacking. Consequently, the aim of this Special Issue is specifically aimed at instilling an awareness on this state of affairs which will help in seeking to specify these difficulties and to propose timely solutions to them. This indeed calls for an ethical education which covers the entire life of the individual, seeking to give fresh and up-to-date responses to new ethical issues which develop over time, and which over time seem to become more complex and multi-faceted than they were ever before.

This theme needs to be considered from a very broad perspective and should include all ethical education in view of education in both religious values and in human values around the world. This wide perspective seeks to be inclusive of every level of education, starting from primary or elementary schooling, moving on to the middle school, high school or secondary school, and also including also tertiary education at a university level, and professional development courses. In other words, ethics and religion as two intertwined fields which are present at every level of education.

This Special Issue is open to research on this theme from different countries and from different perspectives. Papers adopting a historical, contemporary or future perspective are welcomed. Therefore, theologians, pedagogues, historians, ethicists, and educational scholars as well as teachers, and others are welcome to contribute to, and to publish in this Special Issue.

In view of all this, we are pleased to invite you to submit your research or review paper on ethics and religion as an education towards religious and human values.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research may include, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Conceptual foundations of ethics and religion
  • Ethical formation in compulsory schools
  • Ethical formation at a university level
  • Ethics and Religious Education as subjects in school curricula in view of religious and human formation
  • Professional Ethics Platforms
  • Ethical formation in Continuous Professional Development courses
  • Challenges of ethics and religion in view of holistic formation in contemporary society
  • Historical perspectives of ethics and religion
  • Perspectives of ethical and Religious Education in different countries

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Carl-Mario Sultana
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ethics education
  • values education
  • religious education
  • school curriculum
  • professional ethics
  • legal/constitutional frameworks and foundations
  • holistic formation

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2604 KiB  
Article
Teaching Moral Ethics through Sermons: A Case Study on Gregory of Nyssa
by Jonathan Farrugia
Religions 2023, 14(8), 1004; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14081004 - 07 Aug 2023
Viewed by 963
Abstract
This article studies six sermons related to proper social behavior from a Christian perspective by fourth-century theologian Gregory of Nyssa. A brief comment on the dating and the context of the sermons is given before the different themes discussed in the different liturgical [...] Read more.
This article studies six sermons related to proper social behavior from a Christian perspective by fourth-century theologian Gregory of Nyssa. A brief comment on the dating and the context of the sermons is given before the different themes discussed in the different liturgical seasons are analyzed, and then the content of each of these sermons is explored in some depth. Following this, an analysis of the persuasive and instructive styles in these sermons is made, underlining the different ways the bishop exhorts his people according to the matters at hand. When discussing issues that set a bad example, such as the practice of usury and the rejection of correction, the language used is very harsh; in other cases, the tone is softer, such as when it comes to deciding whether one should postpone his baptism or not or how one should behave vis-à-vis the more needy in society; when dealing with sensitive issues like fornication, given the natural human weakness in this aspect, the language is much more pastoral. Finally, a comment on the narratives used concludes the study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ethics and Religion: Education towards Religious and Human Values)
13 pages, 308 KiB  
Article
The School Community’s Role in Educating for Responsibility for Inclusion
by Alina M. Zammit and Raymond Zammit
Religions 2023, 14(7), 931; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070931 - 19 Jul 2023
Viewed by 946
Abstract
This study explores responsibility for inclusion, a notion rooted in the belief and practices of various religions. It draws on the thoughts of Emmanuel Levinas, Hannah Arendt and Paolo Freire, all of whom were greatly influenced by their religious tradition. Ten qualitative interviews [...] Read more.
This study explores responsibility for inclusion, a notion rooted in the belief and practices of various religions. It draws on the thoughts of Emmanuel Levinas, Hannah Arendt and Paolo Freire, all of whom were greatly influenced by their religious tradition. Ten qualitative interviews were performed with senior school leaders. Data were interpreted through thematic analysis, and the results show that inclusion starts from the self who welcomes the other. Inclusion of students with severe disabilities, especially with severe autism, remains problematic at schools in Malta, and headteachers seem to struggle to implement inclusive values and attitudes. Successful methods for better inclusion include collaboration of all school community members, the involvement of students in decision making, participation of all students in school events without any discrimination, the Peer Preparation Programme and the buddy system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ethics and Religion: Education towards Religious and Human Values)
13 pages, 490 KiB  
Article
The Multifaceted Reception of the Torah by Early Church Fathers
by Stefan M. Attard
Religions 2023, 14(7), 926; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070926 - 18 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1280
Abstract
This paper focuses on the reception of the Torah by the Church Fathers who lived up to the beginning of the third century. Christians, having received the whole Torah through the Septuagint translation, became selective in the way they accepted it, adhering to [...] Read more.
This paper focuses on the reception of the Torah by the Church Fathers who lived up to the beginning of the third century. Christians, having received the whole Torah through the Septuagint translation, became selective in the way they accepted it, adhering to it only with reservations. Christological and ethical concerns were at the heart of their acceptance or rejection of various aspects of the Torah. This article will gauge whether Christians had a positive, negative, or neutral evaluation of the Torah and will seek to identify the ways in which they perceived the Torah. By analysing the ways in which the Torah and at times other Old Testament texts were handled, their presentation of these Jewish Scriptures will be brought to light, highlighting different approaches employed in this regard. One notes the following stances: the Torah’s commandments supplemented the Lord’s teachings (the Didache); the Torah was read allegorically and typologically despite a Midrashic approach (Epistle of Barnabas); certain laws were believed to have been instituted as a result of the people’s hardness of heart (Justin Martyr); natural law is distinct from the demands added to it after the Jews’ wayward actions (Irenaeus); the temporal aspects of the law were superseded by its eternal aspects (Tertullian); whilst upholding the promises of the Law, the prophets were seen as going beyond the Law (Tertullian) or as giving the Law a spiritual interpretation (Epistle of Barnabas); and, rarely, the Law was held in very high regard (Clement of Alexandria). This paper is not concerned with any blatant rejection of the Torah and, indeed, the Tanakh at large (as was the case with Marcion), but rather with the subtler nuances that can be detected in other writers who had to rethink the validity and role/place of the Torah in the faith. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ethics and Religion: Education towards Religious and Human Values)
14 pages, 306 KiB  
Article
The Question of Heroism and Heroic Virtue in the Philosophy of Education of Josef Pieper
by Andrea Blaščíková and Rastislav Nemec
Religions 2023, 14(7), 900; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070900 - 12 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1602
Abstract
The question of heroism and heroic virtue belongs among the most discussed topics in history. It emerges as a recurring theme, mainly in the context of an imminent military danger provoking horror and fear which an individual must resist. This is precisely why [...] Read more.
The question of heroism and heroic virtue belongs among the most discussed topics in history. It emerges as a recurring theme, mainly in the context of an imminent military danger provoking horror and fear which an individual must resist. This is precisely why heroism was a subject of Nazi propaganda in the past, when it was associated with an irrational willingness to sacrifice one’s own life for any value. In the context of the current war turmoil and tenebrous scenarios regarding the future of the humanity, this article poses the following question: what exactly is heroic virtue? In particular, it focuses on the image of heroism presented by Josef Pieper, who followed the line of thinking of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. He wanted to demonstrate how the courage to face injustice, in spite of imminent danger, develops into heroism when the power of hope is mobilised within individuals. This refers not only to the natural hope associated with our common expectations, but also a mystical hope that helps a hero maintain justice even when face-to-face with the predominance of evil until the end. The article concludes by proposing several motives that might be considered in the process of education to heroic virtue. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ethics and Religion: Education towards Religious and Human Values)
20 pages, 565 KiB  
Article
How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989)
by Blanka Kudláčová and Andrej Rajský
Religions 2023, 14(7), 858; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070858 - 29 Jun 2023
Viewed by 794
Abstract
After the Communist coup in February 1948, all areas of society in Czechoslovakia were indoctrinated by the ideology of Marxism–Leninism. The Christian Churches became the biggest internal enemies of the state, since, especially in Slovakia, they had a strong tradition and numerous representations. [...] Read more.
After the Communist coup in February 1948, all areas of society in Czechoslovakia were indoctrinated by the ideology of Marxism–Leninism. The Christian Churches became the biggest internal enemies of the state, since, especially in Slovakia, they had a strong tradition and numerous representations. The government tracked representatives and members of the Church and controlled all their activities. The activities of religious orders were prohibited, which de facto abolished them. The only possibility of their preservation was to continue the life, education and work of individual orders in secret. Our goal was to examine how the Salesian order survived in this situation; specifically, we focused on the forms of formation and illegal study of the Salesians during the totalitarian regime. Research in these activities is rather demanding, since they could not be documented for security reasons. So-called memoir literature, the oral history method, and private archival sources were used in the research. Despite the fact that it seems that religious orders would not survive in this historical situation, the opposite was true: in the period of persecution, the orders were not only able to survive, but also raised a new generation that ensured their continuity and the continuation of their activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ethics and Religion: Education towards Religious and Human Values)
11 pages, 938 KiB  
Article
Jethro and Moses in Dialogue (Exodus 18: 8–26): Ethics of Communitarian Responsibility
by Paul Sciberras
Religions 2023, 14(5), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050587 - 29 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1653
Abstract
Jethro’s dialogue with his son-in-law, Moses, in the Book of Exodus 18: 8–26 can be summarised according to the four-fold elements of subsidiarity, communitarian responsibility, delegation, and synodality, which lead to focus in life. The Elder priest of Midian, in north-western Arabia, advises [...] Read more.
Jethro’s dialogue with his son-in-law, Moses, in the Book of Exodus 18: 8–26 can be summarised according to the four-fold elements of subsidiarity, communitarian responsibility, delegation, and synodality, which lead to focus in life. The Elder priest of Midian, in north-western Arabia, advises his son-in-law to practise subsidiarity and communitarian ethical responsibility by undertaking the fundamental task of teaching the precepts, statutes, and instructions that would form the backbone of the twelve-tribe nation of Israel. Subsidiarity and delegation were to be exercised by different levels of leadership, together with Moses himself, in the choice of the exemplary leaders who would both teach Israel and judge minor issues among its people. Finally, synodality is advised by Jethro so that the People of Israel and their leaders can reach their ultimate aim in the Promised Land in peace. Subsidiarity, communitarian responsibility, delegation and synodality would bring Israel as a nation gathered around their one God, YHWH, according to the aim for which they were called from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Canaan. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ethics and Religion: Education towards Religious and Human Values)
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