Ethics Unit

This year the Ethics Unit welcomes proposals on the following themes:

Ethics and Constant Crisis

Ethical reflection is often concerned with responsible action—identifying problems, imagining alternatives, and promoting steps to achieve a brighter future. But we are in a moment that is characterized by unpredictability, a bombardment of moral demands, and pervasive harms. Trauma and crisis fatigue make it difficult for many people to imagine anything beyond survival. How does the field of religious ethics help us understand and respond to this felt lack of agency? Do the experiences of the traumatized, demoralized, and compassion-fatigued complicate existing moral paradigms? What does responsibility look like when one’s capacity to respond has been overwhelmed? Do we need to be able to envision a better world to withstand the crises around us? 

[co-sponsored with Political Theology Unit]

Aligned with What? AI, Power, and Technology Governance

A key buzzword for AI ethics is “alignment,” especially in the wake of Brian Christian’s 2020 book The Alignment Problem. The idea is that any artificial intelligence should be aligned to human values. That’s an admirable (if vague) goal, but as OpenAI admits, “Aligning AI systems with human values also poses a range of other significant sociotechnical challenges, such as deciding to whom these systems should be aligned.” AI cannot be aligned to human values, but always particular humans’ values, and presumably the values held by a powerful minority. We invite proposals in political theology or religious ethics (both broadly understood) on the question of technology governance and the ways developments in AI research and usage interact with existing power dynamics and differing values. Possible directions could include the following: What theological resources might help us grasp the operation of power and mode of governance anticipated by the widespread use of AI and LLMs? Alternatively, how can humanism (in its classical or contemporary human-rights forms) or posthumanism (particularly in its eco- or materialist forms) clarify the ethics of technology governance? How might our fields help us to articulate the human over and against these models, both in response to the question of "alignment" and to the question of the kind of "human" guidance or oversight that AI/LLMs continue to require?

The Family of the Future

Stephanie Coontz writes that the so-called “traditional family” is “an ahistorical amalgam of structures, values, and behaviors that never coexisted in the same place.” This doesn’t mean, however, that our traditions can’t help us understand kinship and obligation in a constructive way. Religious ethics can play a role in helping us imagine and recover forms of intergenerational care that address social ills. In keeping with this year’s presidential theme and Colorado’s legacies—as both the home of Focus on the Family and pioneering LGBTQ+ activism—we invite proposals on the topics of the family, moral responsibilities to future generations, and belonging. Which “family values” are worth embracing? Should the nuclear family be detonated? Do we believe the children are our future? Proposals that engage with ancient, medieval, or early modern sources are especially welcome. 

Immigration and Religious Ethics

Project 2025 called for prioritizing border security and immigration enforcement, including increasing practices of detention and deportation. The second Trump administration has made a furious effort to carry out mass deportations, including the arrests, detention, and deportation of immigrants with legally recognized documents as well as U.S. citizens. For its part, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned a federal judge’s order that had prohibited agents in Los Angeles from stopping people to question them about their immigration status based solely on factors such as their ethnicity.  

Religion has figured prominently in public responses to the new ICE regime. While defenders of these practices in the Trump administration have appropriated Christian theology to defend their positions, religious communities are also responsible for some of the most vociferous opposition to these practices. 

In recognition of the 30th anniversary of the Hispanic Theological Initiative, the Ethics Unit seeks proposals examining the religious and ethical responses to the Trump administration’s current immigration practices. Proposals could explore the role of religion in either justification of or resistance to current practices.