Are "Values" the Same as Virtues? Centrepoints, Vol. 2, No. 2,
Article #1, Fall, 1996 Reproduced with permission . . .It will
surprise some people to realize that "values" is a term that
obscures moral discourse rather than furthers it and that the
term entered our language very recently. We all know, after all,
that in contemporary usage, "you have your values and I have
mine." A difference in "values" is virtually expected and no
cause for concern. . . "Search for values brings boomers back to
church;" so ran the heading of a recent Vancouver Sun article.
The journalist interviewed various people who had left the
church while young, but later brought their own children back. A
church leader said the reason some young families are returning
to church is that "they want some help in fostering values for
their children." A mother of young children stated that it is at
church that children can learn "what's right, what's wrong" so
as to get a "moral education...." Are these two people speaking
about the same ki