Ethics

Nancy M. Rourke, Canisius College, rourken@canisius.edu

This year’s convention theme, You Say You Want a Revolution? 1968-2018 in Theological Perspective, is a well-timed invitation for rigorous, scholarly, and much-needed investigations in theological ethics and moral theology. Paper proposals that engage the heart of this theme will receive primary consideration; however, high quality proposals in any other area of theological ethics and moral theology are also welcome.

In particular, the ethics section encourages papers that will attempt to read “the signs of the times” in relation to the current political environment at the local, national, and global levels. Although the convention theme suggests an orientation toward the past, successful paper proposals will primarily attend to the challenges of the present time, drawing upon past developments in theological ethics and moral theology when necessary and appropriate.

Papers could fruitfully explore this theme by reexamining perennial ethical questions, such as the appropriateness of prophetic discourse, the use of social sciences to understand moral complicity in systemic inequality, whether and how Christians should “take sides” in the midst of social conflict, the use of violence as a means to attaining justice, methods and types of political resistance and revolt, and virtues and norms pertaining to resistance and revolt.

The ethics section also invites papers that take up more specific, pointed questions related to the theme. For example, papers might investigate what revolution is theologically, strategies for Christian resistance to oppressive and/or imperialistic political regimes, the role of emotions in recognizing and resisting injustice, the possibilities and problems encountered in grassroots organizing work, the function of ideologies such as white supremacy in sustaining systemic injustice, the conditions under which armed revolution would or would not be justifiable, and intergenerational justice questions about the long-term consequences of revolution.

Finally, the ethics section invites those submitting proposals also to attend to the interdisciplinary, ecumenical, and interreligious context of contemporary ethical inquiry.