Moral Diversity and Moral Education

Abstract

Introduction:  Although national surveys consistently show that an overwhelming majority of adults in the United States would like to see some sort of moral education in the schools, it is not clear how much real agreement this indicates.  "Whose morality are we talking about?" one might ask.  The significance of this question is apparent when we consider the moral diversity among those who ask it.  This is not merely a diversity among moral beliefs.  This is bound to be present to some degree in any large group of reflective people.  Many societies are multicultural.  As Amy Gutmann puts it, these societies contain within their borders "many cultures that interact in some significant way with each other."  Thus, a multicultural society will, in part, be characterized by different traditions and practices, some of which may reflect fundamental moral and religious differences.