RIGHT VS. RIGHT

For this week we look at the separation of church and state of mind with the question regarding ethical reasoning sans religion. Rushworth Kidder, President of the Institute for Global ethics interviewed in 2006 by Bob Abernathy wonders if the ethics of the 20th century will survive the 21st.
Kidder, a Christian Scientist and former contributor to the Christian Science Monitor, speaks about the universal moral reasoning found in most of the world and the three models from Stuart Mill, Utilitarian, Immanuel Kant Categorical Imperative and the Golden Rule, an amalgam derived from various religious traditions.

Kidder uses the example of the 16 year old caught on the dilemma's horns regarding an oath to secrecy vs a concern for a friend's health and well being to illustrate the three models above. What do you think of this example?

Kidder speaks in the first part of the interview about communities of secular humanity that recognize each other's worth and value as humans without the overarching idea of religion. How has the church contributed to this phenomenon? 

He also speaks of how technology and moral ethics have been on an increasing curve, but that technology seems to be outpacing our ethics. Do you think this is true? Do you think this occurrence is unique to our human history?

Finally, Kidder speaks of our human moral reservoir running short and as being tapped down, so to speak, if it is not replenished over time from divine or other sources. Do you agree that our moral "stores" are possibly limited?

Walter Morton for Terra Incognita