Sexual Ethics
Module Code: 610TSE Credits: 10 Contact Hours: 30 Level: 6 Lecturer: Don Miller OFM
Syllabus
Roman Catholicism views the Institution of Marriage as a Sacrament. Therefore it is more than just a social convention. Marriage is a covenant which models God’s covenant with humankind and Jesus’ covenant with the Church as a community. The purposes of Marriage, as indicated by the Second Vatican Council, are the unity of the couple and the procreation/education of children. Marriage is, thus, the proper and only moral context for genital behaviour.
This module examines the teaching of the Catholic Church in the light of the theology, psychology, sociology, morality and law of marriage and human sexuality.
Aims
- to give the students a critical understanding of teaching on the Sacrament of Marriage and Human Sexuality in the Roman Catholic Tradition.
- to enable the students critically to examine the state of the institution of marriage in present day society.
- to help the students apply the Church?s teaching to practical situations in a sensitive pastoral manner with due discernment.
- to give the students a critical understanding of the practice of the canon law of marriage and its theological underpinnings.
Assessment
Assessment is through a 3,000 word essay
Teaching Methods
- teaching and learning is conducted in small group lectures that have much of the characteristics of seminars.
- lectures involve extended dialogue between lecturer and students.
- preparation for class discussions is through set readings to be read outside of contact time.
- participation by students in classroom discussions is strongly encouraged and, where appropriate, ?quizzes? used to ensure reading has been done and understood.
Knowledge and Understanding
- a familiarity with the teaching on Marriage within the Roman Catholic tradition.
- an appreciation of the covenantal relationship between a husband and wife.
- a deepening of the students? appreciation of the Roman Catholic moral tradition concerning sex/sexuality.
- an in depth understanding of the canon law of the Catholic Church concerning marriage and the process of declaring a marriage null.
Subject Specific Skills
- an ability to apply the teaching of the Church to cultural situations.
- an ability and comfort with evaluating critically and speaking about the Roman Catholic tradition concerning marriage.
- an ability to argue from principles to practical decisions in dealing with issues for which there is often no ‘right’ answer.
- a sensitivity to the balance between objective principles and personal privacy necessary in pastoral situations.
Transferable Skills
- students will learn how to present fairly viewpoints that differ from their own and marshal appropriate evidence to challenge them.
- students will develop research skills so as to be able to research independently using a variety of tools, such as books, journals, observation and primary sources.
- students will be equipped to undertake further study and to present the findings of their study in a variety of written and oral forms.
- students will learn, through class discussions, how to listen and debate in a context of respect and courtesy.
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