Orthodox Christian ethics is grounded in the sacredness of life principle. Yet, it can accept a quality of life approach where "quality" refers not to capacities or states, but to the relationship between the patient's condition and the quest for transcendent life goals (Walter and Shannon, 1990). The true quality of human life derives from the vocation to stewardship, which enjoins an attitude...

Recent years have witnessed several examples of desecrations of copies of the Qur’an as a display of non-Muslim hostility against Muslims. The present article attempts to answer a fundamental question relating to this phenomenon: how do desecrators know what acts directed at the Qur’an are likely to offend Muslims? The suggestion put forward is that desecration is an act that can be understood ...

Australian Aboriginal symbols are visual forms of knowledge that express cultural intellect. Being classified by a Western interpretation of “art” devalues thousands of years of generational knowledge systems, where visual information has been respected, appreciated and valued. This article highlights how Aboriginal creativity has little concept of aesthetical value, but is a cultural display o...

Local belief systems such as indigenous religions and social taboos have been credited with helping to conserve animal and plant species and particular sites worldwide. Certain species and sites are protected because they are considered sacred. Although the meaning of sacred varies across cultures, religions, and languages, in general sacred entities are distinguished from the everyday world an...

Certain objects such as family heirlooms are often treated as if they have intrinsic moral qualities, including sacredness and infinite value. Other objects such as instruments of torture are often seen as inherently repellent. Do people also evaluate more mundane objects such as refrigerators as morally good or bad? Here we explore the nature and scope of moral object evaluation through two ex...

The Policeman in the Community by Michael Banton is viewed as a seminal work in the Anglo-American sociological study of the police. This article – which draws on and cites a personal dialogue with Banton himself sets this work in context by outlining the intellectual formation of its author in the 1950s, before setting out the main theoretical and methodological aspects of this study. It is ar...

This presentation focuses on the involvement of the Church in the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. The Church believes in the sacredness of life in every person and in a human dignity that needs to be respected. Therefore, people with AIDS should not be condemned, avoided, or rejected. The Church also points out the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness education in explaining the meaning of human se...