| OCR Text |
Show page 2 lessons, Fail 2004 The Intersection of Ethics and Religion in the Classroom BY KIRA JONES PHOTOS BY ALY DANIELS Religion plays a major role in who we are ethically. "We follow laws based on social norms; faith and religion help navigate us through our decisions/' said Dr. Abe Bakhsheshy who teaches an ethics course in the school of business. Yet, centuries ago philosophical minds gathered to study and articulate the moral value of human conduct, rules, and principles in an attempt to move away from faith-based explanations. History illustrates how philosophy has tried to separate ethical issues from church influence, although these moral ideas and ethical guidelines have deep roots in religion. In an effort to continue this separation and keep religiously loaded comments out of the classroom, we may have created a barrier that prohibits the use of religion in academic settings even when it could be beneficial to students. Americans are very focused on objectivity in the school system, thus extensive measures are taken to prevent any remarks that would favor one religion or set of beliefs over another. This conflict is one that ethics professors at the University of Utah must deal with when they prepare their lectures. The definition of ethics can be complex and may stray from complete objectivity. Therefore, in many cases to discuss ethical principles for a specific situation one must draw upon moral or religious beliefs. Courses in the Law School must explicitly deal with the balance of ethics and religion. According to Dr. Linda Smith, the integration of religious beliefs in the teaching of her course is subtle. In the course Legal Professions, students undoubtedly encounter situations where their personal beliefs could conflict with the ethi- Dr. Linda Smith introduces a panel of guest speakers to her class |
