Global Ethics and Values Overview

Global Ethics and Values Cluster

• Global Ethics: A set of universal moral principles, transcending national and cultural boundaries, addressing issues like human rights, sustainability, and justice. Emphasizes a shared moral framework while respecting diversity. Examples include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and interfaith initiatives on climate change. Influenced by religious traditions.

Public Christianity

• Definition: Christian values and institutions engaging in public life, tackling societal challenges like poverty, inequality, and environmental damage. Often involves applying Christian ethics to modern problems and dialogues with different perspectives.
• Examples: Christian organizations like World Vision focusing on humanitarian aid, influence of Christian teachings on civil rights and economic justice movements.
• Connection: Represents religion's return to public discourse in a post-secular world.

Political Paratheology

• Definition: Using theological language/concepts to frame political ideas/policies, often blending religious and secular ideologies.
• Context: Common in pluralistic societies where political actors use religious principles to attract voters or legitimize power.
• Examples: U.S. presidents invoking biblical images, leaders in other countries using Islamic theology in political discourse.
• Connection: Uses religion to enhance influence and soft power.

Civil Religion

• Definition: Integrating religious symbols, rituals, and values into a nation's political culture to promote unity and identity. Fosters civic responsibility while respecting pluralism. (Not aligned with specific religious institutions).
• Examples: U.S. phrases like "In God We Trust," national remembrance ceremonies (e.g., Germany's Holocaust Memorial Day).
• Connections: Aligns with universal values like liberty and justice, contrasting with political religion.

Modernity and Secularization

• Definition: Examining how modernity (emphasizing rationality, science, individualism) affects religion. Modernity can marginalize or transform religion.
• Context: Modernity drives secularization processes. Religious adaptation is a possibility within modern context.
• Examples: Decline in church attendance in Western Europe during the 20th century, coexistence of modernity and religiosity in diverse countries.
• Connections: Modernity can both push for and push against secularization depending on societal circumstances.