Happiness and the Christian Moral Life

One of the most widely adopted textbooks in the field, Happiness and the Christian Moral Life introduces students to the study of Christian ethics. In this updated edition, including a new section on sexual ethics, Paul Wadell proposes that the heart of Christian ethics is not rules and obligations but our deep desire for happiness and fulfillment.

As one of the most widely adopted textbooks in the field, Happiness and the Christian Moral Life introduces students to Christian ethics through the lens of happiness. Drawing on classical and modern Christian sources, Paul Wadell proposes that the heart of ethics is not rules and obligations but our deep desire for happiness and fulfillment.

The fourth edition of this accessible and student-friendly text has been revised and updated throughout. It introduces Christian ethics with sensitivity towards readers who may not be Christian themselves. After an overview of basic concepts and key thinkers such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, subsequent chapters explore the importance of narrative in Christian ethics, the place of friendship and community in Christian moral life, the role of virtues in our quest for fulfillment, a Christian understanding of the person, a Christian theology of freedom, and false steps on the path to happiness. Final chapters discuss the role of conscience and prudence, love, and justice.

The fourth addition also includes new sections on several topics, including the social thought of Pope Francis. It also highlights the challenges of climate change and global warming; divisive policy and political battles that have roiled the United States in recent years; recent thinking on gender and sexual ethics; race and ongoing racial conflict; and neoliberal economics. This edition also features fresh, global examples, revised introductions to key thinkers, and further explanations of the virtues.

As many who have taught Christian Ethics with this book will attest, it is accessible to students from a range of ecclesial traditions, as well as to those with no religious background at all. But it is more than that. Happiness and the Christian Moral Life draws readers in with a compelling invitation: to discover that at the heart of the good life is love and belonging, and that one's vocation--no matter one's occupation--is to embody the fullness of that life in just relationships with all of creation. The updates to this new edition and the inclusion of a section on sexuality by Bridget Burke Ravizza strengthen this wise, engaging text even more.

--Debra Dean Murphy, chair of the department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, West Virginia Wesleyan College

For over two decades, my students have been captivated by Wadell's intriguing stories, and drawn deeply into a clearer understanding of moral theology by his clear and compelling presentations. This latest edition, significantly updated, is a testimony to Wadell's understanding of the moral life as an ongoing quest, that earnest desire, for happiness.

--Patrick Flanagan, chair of the department of Theology and Religious Studies, St. John's University

That this is the fourth edition of Happiness and the Christian Moral Life reflects how happy instructors, including myself, and students are with this engaging introductory text. Paul J. Wadell, now emeritus professor but ever a gifted teacher, continues to listen and to learn, as reflected in this improved edition that bridges past insights with present concerns, integrates foundational elements with major issues, and incorporates contributions from both traditional and marginalized voices. I am happier than ever to see this new edition.

--Tobias Winright, professor of Moral Theology, St. Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth, Ireland

This definitive edition of Paul Wadell's Happiness and the Christian Moral life coalesced through the magnanimity and hospitality of its author to the many interlocutors who have loved, used, and discussed its previous editions. Along with improvements to the overall structure of the already impressive third edition, Wadell incorporates thoughtful treatments of recent papal encyclicals to further inform his insightful explanations. Emergent moral concerns facing undergraduates--climate change, racism, hookup culture, and pornography--also receive attention in this latest edition, which now fittingly begins with the Beatitudes and ends with caritas. This is a masterful introduction to Christian ethics.

--Carter Aikin, grants director, Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education

Valuable new coverage of polarization, racism, and sexuality updates this classic introduction to the moral life. Wadell's text offers an engaging, substantive, and remarkably comprehensive introduction to the Christian ethics through the welcome lens of our creation for happiness.

--Kristin E. Heyer, Joseph Chair in Theology, Boston College

While this fourth edition of Wadell's provocative, useful, and eminently readable text, Happiness and the Christian Moral Life, is certainly a fine introduction to Christian ethics, a case can also be made for its value as an especially rich and profoundly relevant work of theological anthropology. Perhaps the strongest evidence of this is the author's inclusion of a compelling new chapter devoted to the importance of understanding love as humanity's sole raison d'etre.

--Scott D. Geis, professor of Religious Studies, Christian Brothers University

Paul J. Wadell is professor emeritus of theology and religious studies at St. Norbert College. He is the author of several books, including Friendship and the Moral Life; Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice and the Practice of Christian Friendship; and Happiness and the Christian Moral Life: An Introduction to Christian Ethics (now in its 3rd edition).

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