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moral theology, a Christian theological discipline frequently called Christian ethics, the systematic reflection on the principles for determining the quality of human behaviour in the light of Christian revelation. It is distinguished from the philosophical discipline of ethics, which relies upon the authority of reason and which can only call upon rational sanctions for moral failure. Moral theology appeals to the authority of revelation, specifically as found in the preaching and activity of Jesus Christ.
The moral teaching in Christian communities has varied in the different eras, regions, and confessional traditions in which Christianity has been professed. The Roman Catholic tradition has been inclined to emphasize the mediating role of ecclesiastical institutions in its approach to the authority of revelation. Protestant churches have often put great emphasis on the direct, or immediate, responsibility of the individual before God. The influence of the spiritual director for the individual Christian has been a significant aspect of Eastern Christianity.
Moral theology has at times seemed to have been restricted in its scope to a consideration of those thoughts, works, and actions that are viewed as offensive to God and spiritually harmful to men—that is, an enumeration of sins. It was thus seen as a negative complement of, or perhaps an anticipation of, the separate disciplines of ascetical and mystical theology, which both presuppose a more positive orientation of the individual toward God.
Many moral theologians, however, have believed that it is more faithful to the New Testament and to early theology not to separate moral teaching from religious anthropology (or the teaching about man) that is implicit in the message of the Gospels. This approach has been reflected in the traditional Eastern Christian emphasis on the divinization of man through his association with Jesus Christ and in the Protestant concern with the moral power of justification. Medieval and post-Reformation Roman Catholic moral theology tended to separate moral teaching from dogmatic theology.
The significance of the relation of moral teaching to divine revelation lies in the problem of determining the nature of the particular “highest good” that characterizes any ethical system.
Without such a determination of the nature of this good, one could easily have the impression that morality is simply obedience to a set of rules or laws the observance of which has been labelled, more or less arbitrarily, good. In the light of revelation, sin is seen as a deterioration of the fundamental disposition of man toward God rather than as a breaking of rules or laws. Virtue is viewed as the tendency of man to respond freely and consciously to situations in a manner that reflects and intensifies his conformity to Jesus Christ. The moral theologian’s evaluation of moral acts, whether sinful or virtuous, includes a discussion of the relation of motivation and circumstance.
Only when it has been possible to discern the nature of the moral act can the moral theologian attempt to aid the individual in determining the correct Christian response to concrete situations. In eras characterized by an uneducated clergy, the use of penitentials, or lists of moral offenses, was prevalent. Casuistry, an approach to the study of morality through a consideration of large numbers of cases, has tended to deprive the moral act of the spontaneous and unique character expected of a truly free and intelligent action. In recent centuries, several Roman Catholic systems of casuistry (e.g., probabilism) have been developed that have been concerned with the degree of certainty required before an individual should proceed with an act that is of doubtful morality.
The diverse approaches to moral theology through the centuries have varied greatly in their recourse to logical reasoning and in the degree of their acceptance of general moral principles that are considered universally applicable. A recent tendency challenging the validity of such general principles is called situation ethics. Contemporary moral theology must confront problems resulting from modern technology, such as the moral issues related to the use of sophisticated instruments of warfare, individual responsibility in large corporate institutions, the demands of social justice, and recent development in the biological sciences.
