Institute of Social Ethics

Founded in 1964, the Institute of Social Ethics is a research center of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Zürich devoted to theological, theoretical, and applied ethics, with a focus on religion in the contemporary world. Areas of expertise include political, environmental, medical, and business ethics. With a strong international focus, the Institute aims to bring together ethical reflection and public policy analysis to address matters of domestic and global concern.

https://www.ethik.uzh.ch/en/ise.html

Prof. Dr. Michael Coors

Michael Coors is associated Professor of Theological Ethics and Director of the Institute of Social ethics at the University of Zurich since 2019. He currently is also director of the interdisciplinary Center for Ethics of the University.
He finished his PhD on Hermeneutics and Scriptural authority in 2008 at the University of Greifswald, worked as research assistant at the University of Rostock (2008–2010) and as theologian at the center for Healthcare Ethics of the Lutheran Church of Hannover (2011–2019). In 2018 has been habilitated with a work on the ethics and anthropology of ageing at the University of Greifswald.

His research interests cover a variety of topics from the field of medical ethics (e.g. end of life care, reproductive medicine, ageing, vulnerability), political ethics, and the foundation of theological ethics and ethics in general. 

https://www.ethik.uzh.ch/en/ise/team/coors.html

Dr. Lea Chilian

Lea Chilian started as senior research and teaching assistant at the Institute of Social Ethics in September 2021. She finished her doctoral thesis (~ PhD) on “ethical dimensions of spirituality in Health Care” in Juli 2021 at the department for Systematic Theology, Faculty of Protestant Theology at Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. Here she worked as research and teaching assistant for “ethical dimensions of pastoral praxis”. For her doctoral thesis she was granted a doctoral scholarship by Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst e.V. (government-sponsored scholarship organization).

Lea Chilians research interests include biomedical ethics, ethics of healthcare, ethics in pastoral care and spiritual care, as well as Care-Ethics and feminist ethics.

https://www.ethik.uzh.ch/en/ise/team/chilian.html 

Sebastian Farr, Mag. Theol. 

Sebastian Farr has been working as research and teaching assistant at the Institute of Social Ethics since 2019.

His dissertation-project focusses on the ways healthcare chaplains are involved with ethics consultation and how they understand their professional identity as both pastoral care givers and ethics experts. 

https://www.ethik.uzh.ch/en/ise/team/farr.html

Faculty of Theology

The Faculty of Theology is located in the heart of Zürich right next to the Grossmünster, one of the main churches of the city, and will function as conference venue. With roots dating back to the «Prophezei», which was founded in 1525 by famous reformer Huldrych Zwingli, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Zürich.

https://www.theologie.uzh.ch/en.html