Speakers: Susan Neiman, Jonathan Sacks

Jonathan Sacks and Susan Neiman outlined their visions for addressing the ethical challenges, both religious and secular, confronting us in the 21st century.

In Moral Clarity : A Guide for Grown-up Idealists, Susan Neiman reclaims the secular moral values of the enlightenment as the mature route to social justice, free from the ideologies and orthodoxies that attract so many.

In his latest book, Future Tense, Jonathan Sacks claims that religion and morality are inextricable – religion representing the best of what it means to be human.

Is Susan Neiman too idealistic about the possibility of attaining a transcendent morality, independent of religion? Does Jonathan Sacks exaggerate the role religion plays in moral conduct?

This was a discussion that was both exciting and contentious.