| CODE | PLC5750 | ||||||
| TITLE | Religious, Spiritual and Moral Development | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Pastoral Theology, Liturgy and Canon Law | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will allow students to explore different theories related to moral development throughout life at the intersection between religion, spirituality, and psychology. In particular, it will help students understand how the moral character is shaped and cultivated through spirituality and religion. The study-unit will attempt to answer questions such as: What is moral and religious development? How and when does it take place? Why and whence does it originate? What elements must be considered for a comprehensive view of moral development? Can these different elements be combined in some synthetic view? The study-unit will trace the theories of moral development from the birth of the discipline (including the contribution of Piaget, Dewey and Kohlberg) to its contemporary and feminist exponents (Carol Gilligan, Jonathan Haidt, John Doris, and Sandra Bartky). The strong psychological component should provide a sound platform for the integration of the two disciplines of religion and psychology. This will be done also through an examination of the way in which religious practices shape moral development and of case studies of leaders such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Oscar Romero. The study-unit is composed of two parts: 1.) a theory-based part outlining the links between psychology on the one hand and spirituality, religion and philosophy on the other hand. 2.) a practical part which will apply the theory covered in the first part to one’s own personal experience. Study-unit Aims: - Familiarise participants with the various stages of moral development on a theoretical and a practical level; - Enable participants to assess the moral development of those entrusted in their care by studying case studies; - Help participants become aware of thier own stage of moral development to eventually engage in activities that would enable them to facilitate further development; - Empower participants to plan a way forward for the healthy moral development of individuals and communities entrusted in their care. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify the epistemological change in moral development that the change in era (including the digital shift) has brought about and devise ways of responding to it; - list the ways in which the two "worlds" interact in contributing to religious development; - discriminate between healthy and unhealthy, mature and immature forms of religion, while proposing spiritually and morally healthy pastoral journeys; - compare the different schools of thought behind the theories of moral development and apply them to the holistic development of the human person. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - root the theory that has been reflected upon in one’s personal, and the one’s community’s story; - integrate the dimensions of faith and psychology in a group dimension; - read intelligently and discerningly scientific research about the subject in the wider context of one’s own and the community’s story of salvation and also propose journeys in ministry. Main Text/s and any Supplementary Readings: - Bandura, A. (1995). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prenctice Hall. - Doris, J. M. (1998). Persons, Situations, and Virtue Ethics. Noûs, 32(4), 504–530. - Erikson, E. H. (1995). Childhood and society. Revised 2nd Edition. London: Vintage. - Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Harvard University Press. - Haidt, J. (2008). Morality. Perspectives on Pyschological Science, 3(1), 65–72. - Jensen, L. A. (2015). Moral development in a global world : research from a cultural-developmental perspective. Cambridge University Press. - Jensen, L. A. (2020). The Oxford handbook of moral development : an interdisciplinary perspective. Oxford University Press. - Kristeva, J. (2007). Rethinking "Normative Conscience". Common Knowledge, 13(2), 219-226. - Paloutzian R. F. (1996). Invitation to the Psychology of Religion. 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. - Pope, S. J. (2011). Moral Formation as Transformation: The Contribution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, 2(1), 5-7. - Spohn, W. C. (2000). Conscience and moral development. Theological Studies, 61(1), 122–138. - Titus, C. S. (2008). Moral development and making all things new in Christ. The Thomist: A Speculative Quarterly Review, 72(2), 233–258. - Traina, C. L. H. (2009). Children and Moral Agency. Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, 29(2), 19–37. - Walker, M. U. (2008). Moral Psychology. In E. F. Kittay & L. M. Alcoff (Eds.), The Blackwell guide to feminist philosophy (pp. 102–115). John Wiley & Sons. - Wulff, D. (1991). Psychology of Religion. Classic & Contemporary Views. New York: J. Wiley & Sons. - Zohar, D., & Marshall, I. N. (2001). SQ: Connecting with our spiritual intelligence. New York: Bloomsbury. - Zimbardo, P. G. (2007). The Lucifer effect: How good people turn evil. Rider. - Zizek, B., Garz, Detlef, editor, & Nowak, Ewa, editor. (2015). Kohlberg revisited. SensePublishers. N.B. Further reading material will be suggested or handed out during interaction with students. N.B. Publications that might appear “dated” such as Bandura’s and Gilligan’s among others, are classic works which the participants of the course would greatly miss out on if they do not familiarize themselves with the original texts. |
||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||
| LECTURER/S | |||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||