Ethics is the study of right and wrong. Sometimes we disagree about whether an action is right or wrong (such as eating meat, going to war, or instituting a political policy), and ethics explores what would make it one or the other. Is a right action virtuous, does it bring about the greatest amount of good (and how would we measure?), is there a rule mandating it, or is an action both right and wrong in different ways that must be weighed against the alternatives? The sub-discipline of metaethics goes a level higher and asks what rightness and wrongness are to begin with (overlapping with metaphysics) – are there ethical facts, and if so where do they come from? Perhaps ethical laws are written into the universe or come from God, or perhaps they are just products of human convention. Ethics also (overlapping with epistemology) asks how we know which actions are right and wrong. And (overlapping with metaphysics and philosophy of mind) it explores what it takes for a person to be held responsible for their actions. A sub-discipline of ethics is political philosophy, addressing questions of social and political power and justice. 

The ethics of religion explores the value systems of religions, and how religiously motivated people act for good or ill in the world. On the one hand, religions are a source of many ethical norms we take for granted today, including an idea of human rights based on the value of all created beings before God. But people acting in the name of religion have also caused horrendous suffering, and religiously inspired ethics must sometimes be re-interpreted to reflect moral progress. Other questions in the ethics of religion include what role there is for religion-specific values in pluralistic societies, and whether religion can promote or detract from a life well lived.