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Show lessons, Fail 2004 page 3 "Material dealing with faith-based issues are dealt with just as any other material; these courses are structured to present different perspectives, those religiously-based and those that are not/' cal procedures of their field. For example, lawyers have a responsibility to their clients when dealing with client confidentiality. As discussed in the course these obligations can, on occasion, be contradictory to what a lawyer believes to be morally or religiously just. Therefore, in order to address this issue of morality Dr. Smith brings in a panel of lawyers to speak about their personal experiences in the field. "Morality is not a driving factor in law practice, but too absent from it," said Dr. Smith. The world of Law is complex and the ethical obligations of the field are often abstract. However, in recent years Smith believes the idea of ethics has become more prominent in the field. Watergate is viewed as the turning point for many lawyers in relation to ethics and moral judgments, according to Smith. Since then, the use of ethics and the integration of them into lawyers' personal lives and professional lives have become more prominent. Smith's goal when teaching the Legal Profession course is to teach students how to combine their moral and religious selves with their future occupations. This combination of beliefs in one's professional life will ultimately facilitate intrap-ersonal professional decision-making. Smith recognized that this course can easily be taught without addressing morality, however, she practices this combination approach in her life and believes it is an important part of the course. The majority of ethics courses are taught in the philosophy department, though currently there is not one that focuses primarily on religion. This will change in the fall _________________ of 2004 when a new course is added to the curriculum. The course titled, "God, Faith, and Reason" will be the first to directly address religion in relation to reason and is expected to broaden the understanding of philosophical issues. Leslie Francis, the Chair of the department of philosophy, stated that religion can still be found in many philosophy ethics courses and when these religious ideas surface in course material, they are dealt with in an objective manner. "Material dealing with faith-based issues are dealt with just as any other material, these courses are structured to present different perspectives, those religiously based and those that are not." Francis said. Students are taught to address problems and apply knowledge using analytical tools even when the subject is religion. This approach gives students an opportunity to look at information from a series of angles, whether that source be religiously-based or not, students are taught to address all sources of information objectively and analytically. An objective approach is a powerful tool, and "philosophy emphasizes critical inquiry not without a lack of respect." Francis said. It is possible to deal with religion in an academic setting where students are encouraged to be objective, analytical, and critical. This is precisely the goal of higher education, to encourage analytical thought processes, even when addressing sensitive issues. The philosophy department has discovered a way to incorporate religious viewpoints in ethical discussions in an objective manner without eliminating religion from course content. Professors who believe that integrating religion into ethics courses is a positive part of the academic experience are in favor of this combination of principles. Dr. Luke Garrott, administrative director for the Graduate Certificate in Ethics and Public Affairs Program, believes that religion should be integrated into the teaching of ethics because many students bring religious perspectives to the class discussion more than just philosophical point-of-views. All cultures integrate some sort of religious or moral belief system into their way of life. Often this knowledge and understanding is at the center of what people believe to be ethical. By combining religion with ethics courses professors are encouraging their students to address issues with a different set of tools. Dr. Garrott allows students to use a multitude of resources in his Communitarianism course. His one demand is that students use what is taught in class. They can also draw on other sources to back up their ideas, such as LDS scriptures. Students are allowed to use these works with other material from class in order to define principles. This teaching method allows Dr. Garrott's students to apply what they feel or know to be ethical in assignments while adhering to course content. William Stilling, Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, commented that he believes there are three tools to use in the analysis of defining ethical conundrums: law, ethics, and religion. Dr. Stilling stated, "One cannot address ethics if they are not aware that people wi 11 use another set of tools to evaluate things." In short, professors must be aware that students are likely to draw on their personal beliefs _______________ when dealing with ethical material. Thus, while society is continually pulling religion from the academic arena it is somehow finding its way back. While discussions in many of these ethics courses do not favor one religion over the other, religious principles are allowed in the classroom when they offer solid approaches to a subject, especially when the subject of abortion is addressed in law or when a student is asked to write a personal code of ethics in a business class. This idea of religious integration must be addressed from the students' perspective as well. According to Dr. Stilling, "Many students censor their own comments when discussing religious content." This censorship is a tool students use in order to address material that they may feel is potentially controversial in class, and while it is a good idea for students to be religiously sensitive, they must continue to allow themselves to address ethical behavior from outside a parameter of defined rules. College experience is intended to help students grow not only in their academic lives, but also their personal ones. Perhaps if there were more integration of religion on campus students would make more judgments that are moralistic when they enter the professional world. Ultimately, the integration of religion into the classroom is a complex issue. It is impossible to find the perfect balance between excluding all discussion of religion and including every aspect of religion and ethics. The integration of religious principles into ethics courses must be done in an appropriate manner so that no one is offended, |