Bioethics and Religion

Exploring the Intersection
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-032-33537-1
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 238 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: The International Library of Bioethics

This book examines one of the most contested questions in contemporary bioethics: should religion be permitted a seat at the table of bioethics? To address this question, it brings secular and religious bioethicists into structured confrontation across core topics including abortion, conscientious objection, medically assisted dying, circumcision, and human enhancement. Contributors present contrasting arguments, enabling systematic comparison of their underlying assumptions, methods, and normative commitments. Structured to facilitate critical engagement rather than synthesis, the volume critically examines the claimed epistemic authority and public legitimacy of religious reasoning in bioethics, and the conditions under which such perspectives may - or may not - meet the standards of public reason, inclusivity, and rational justification. The book will interest bioethicists, philosophers, theologians, clinicians, and policymakers concerned with the limits of moral authority in medicine and biomedical science.

Chapter “Should religion be permitted a seat at the table of bioethics? The case of abortion” is available open access under a Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Smith, Kevin

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Soziale Fragen & Probleme
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Religionssoziologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Bioethik, Tierethik
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Religion and secularism in bioethics: a critical introduction.- 2. Rational bioethics without religion.- 3. Towards a pluralistic and public bioethics: interreligious dialogue as a paradigm for understanding.- 4. Conscience beyond religion: avenues for secular conscientious objection and provision.- 5. Conscientious objection in healthcare.- 6. Conscientious objection in healthcare: a jewish ethical perspective on balancing professional integrity and patient care.- 7. Should religion be permitted a seat at the table of bioethics? The case of abortion.- 8. Abortion, religion, and bioethics.- 9. Secular ethics approaches to medically assisted dying.- 10. Killing off the elderly, sick, and other unwanted (expensive!) Patients.- 11. Circumcision as a critical test case for the value of religious bioethics: a close examination of the writings of rabbi elliot n. Dorff.- 12. Contested cuttings: the ethics of genital cutting in islam through the lens of peer disagreement and the intersection with secular bioethics.- 13. Enhancement, Natural Law, And New Basic Human Goods.- Epilogue.

Über Autor(innen)

Kevin Smith is a bioethicist at Abertay University, Dundee. His research interests include the ethics of gene therapy and genetic modification (‘genethics’), the ethics of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), and the relationship between bioethics and religion. He has published widely across these areas. His current work focuses on critically examining the role and influence of religious perspectives within contemporary bioethical discourse.