RELIGIOUS BELIEFS IN THE WORKPLACE
After the Affordable Care Act passed, the for-profit Holly Lobby corporation sued the government on the basis of the religious beliefs of its owners who did not believe in birth control. Hobby Lobby won the lawsuit and was granted an exemption from that portion of the ACA which included employee-covered birth control. In a related case, a Colorado baker won a lawsuit that was brought against him by a homosexual couple when the baker refused, on the basis of his religious beliefs, to bake a wedding cake for the couple. In other cases in this general topic, doctors, government employees, and healthcare providers have brought or been the target of lawsuits when they refuse to or are forced to provide services that conflict with their religious beliefs. When choosing this topic, note that it is easy to get distracted by your feelings on this issue. Try to step back from any strong feelings you have and approach the topic by narrowing in on a specific right or duty or obligation and whether it is moral to grant or deny a right or duty or force a specific behavior.
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The Week 3 written assignment should be an essay on Religious Beliefs in the workplace and include the following sections with headings in bold font:
Part 1: Introduction, Case Study, Ethical Question
In this section, present an introduction to the general topic, explain the case study, identify the central moral controversy at stake, and articulate an ethical question that describes the central moral controversy at stake. This section must include one quote from one of the resources provided with the case study. To complete this section,
· Choose a case study from the selection provided by your instructor in the Week 3 announcement titled “Week 3 Case Studies.”
· Present a brief introduction to the case study.
· Discuss background information.
· Identify the central moral controversy at stake in the case study.
· Articulate an ethical question based on the central moral controversy.
This section should be around 300 words.
Part 2: Reading Philosophy Reflection
In this section, choose one of the philosophical texts associated with your chosen ethical theory listed in the
Philosophical Texts
Download Philosophical Texts
document. Copy and paste the text into this section of the paper. After applying the reading philosophy steps from the Week 1 discussion,
· Explain the key ideas in the text.
· Discuss how your understanding of the text evolved after multiple reads.
This section should be around 150 words (excluding the philosophical text).
Part 3: Explanation of Utilitarianism or Deontology
In this section, describe the ethical theory of utilitarianism or deontology and explain its core principles. This section must include one quote from the provided resources on the ethical theory. To complete this section,
· Discuss the historical background of the ethical theory and the philosopher(s) associated with it.
· Explain the core moral principle of the theory, or if there is more than one, the principle that you will focus on in applying that theory to your question.
· Demonstrate how the theory and its core moral principle(s) apply to an ethical question that is different than the topic of your case study. For example, what would deontologists say about the morality of lying, and what principle would support their statement; what would utilitarians say about the morality of using animals in medical research, and what principle would support their statement?
This section should be around 350 words.
Part 4: Application of Ethical Theory
In this section, apply the core principle(s) you articulated above to the central moral controversy in the case study.
· Explain how the core principle(s) of the ethical theory apply to the case study. This might include considering which facts or features of the case study lend themselves to analysis by the ethical theory.
· Apply the core principles of the theory to the central moral controversy in the case study by showing how someone using the theory would answer the ethical question addressed by your case study.
This section should be around 350 words.
