Moral Theology and Christian Ethics

"The great institutions of St. Thomas" morality are the best instrument of critical dialogue with modernity. The theory of virtue will stimulate a renewal of moral theology and the teaching of moral theology stemming from the great institutions of Thomism, still has a luminous future before it." - Archbishop Bruguès (as quoted in "Vatican Official Considers Aquinas" Comeback" by Antonio Gaspari, 3 December 2008)

As a member of the GTU, DSPT can offer its students the choice of several areas of concentration designated by the GTU which draw upon the expertise of faculty from DSPT, GTU and UC Berkeley.

The MATH with a concentration in Moral theology focuses on the key elements of the human response to Christian revelation. It is studied in conversation with Scripture and tradition, other religious traditions, such as Judaism and Islam, as well as with other disciplines such as philosophy, politics, law, and medicine.

More information is available at the GTU website.

Students may focus their research on methodological questions (for example, the nature of human action, virtue, happiness) or on a particular area (for example, social, political, environmental, comparative, biomedical, sexual or familial ethics). Any specialization in moral theology at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT) imparts an overall understanding of the Catholic moral tradition, particularly the tradition of the virtues stemming from Aquinas, including its sources, historical development, and contemporary expressions and debates.

DSPT Faculty:

Marianne Farina, CSC – Catholic moral theology; philosophical ethics; Islamic ethics; Christian and Islamic spirituality
Edward Krasevac, OP – Catholic moral theology; Catholic sexual ethics; systematic theology; Christology

Selected GTU Faculty:

Lisa Fullam (JST) - Moral theology; virtue ethics; Ignatian spirituality; sexual ethics; medical and bioethics
Carol S. Robb (SFTS) - Environmental ethics; feminist ethics; theories of justice and economic ethics; methods in ethics
Martha Ellen Stortz (PLTS) - Christian practices; vision and the moral life; scripture and ethics; spirituality and ethics

Back to Areas of Concentration.