Moral Struggle and Religious Ethics

Moral Struggle and Religious Ethics examines the need that drives us from the comforts of our own religious traditions to learn about those that are unknown and even irreconcilably different. It takes as its theme a problem common throughout religions: that religious people do not always behave morally. Clairmont presents a fresh approach in his discussion of the challenges involved in living a moral life by offering an in-depth reading of the work of the two important religious figures: Bonaventure, a 13th century Roman Catholic priest and teacher in the Franciscan order, and Buddhaghosa, a 5th-century Theravada Buddhist monk. These two men offer crucial insights into the development of moral thinking in Christianity and Buddhism respectively. Clairmont's comparison is centered on the struggle of both men to make sense of human moral weakness and their moral reflections on appropriate interaction with the world around them. In focusing on the shared human problem of moral failure, Clairmont demonstrates that we are only able to fully understand a religious tradition through open-minded and respectful comparison to others. At a time over-shadowed by the potential of religious violence, it demonstrates that inter-religious conversation serves to advance the well-being of the human community.