Moral relativism has the unusual distinction - both within philosophy and outside it - of being attributed to others, almost always as a criticism, far more often than it is explicitly professed by anyone. /http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-relativism/ 2004)
Relativism is a philosophical position in which one asserts that there are no absolute truths. Moral relativism refines this to say that one's moral viewpoint is dependent on one's cultural worldview. In theory its opposite is absolutism, but in the United States to take a non-relative moral position is to be ethnocentric, which is abhorrent in our multicultural community.
Relativism, like nearly any philosophical position, is rarely ever found in its pure state. "The self-proclaimed moral relativist does not and cannot maintain his or her commitment to the "philosophy" of moral relativism. In fact, the record clearly shows that these "moral relativists" are not relativists at all, but moral absolutists" (Dolhenty). For example, women's rights activists are often quick to point out the horrible subjugation of women in Muslim-dominated societies. When members of those societies try to defend their policies, they are accused of moral relativism. The fact that an American woman's role in society is a creation of our culture seems lost on them. Catholics believe that though women have a right to life and the means to live with dignity ((Michigan Catholic Conference, 2), individual countries have a right to set their own legal standards.
The Catholic Church teaches that some issues can be divided into right and wrong, generally those which are outlined in the Ten Commandments. This places it at great odds with American Culture. One example is an elective abortion of a baby who would otherwise live. To Catholics the baby is a person, and to kill them is murder. American society is fraught with arguments of why such a thing might be permissible. To Catholics...