Religious Pluralism and Values in the Public Sphere

Goodman argues we can respect one another and learn from one another's ways without sharing them or relinquishing our own.

Lenn E. Goodman (Author)

9781107052130, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 April 2014

230 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.7 cm, 0.44 kg

'… a significant work that straddles the boundaries of political philosophy and religious ethics. Goodman's style of rich description, evocative examples, and a deep knowledge of both Rawls and the religious traditions under consideration made this volume a pleasure to read.' Angus M. Slater, SCTIW Review

How can we, as people and communities with different religions and cultures, live together with integrity? Does tolerance require us to deny our deep differences or give up all claims to truth, to trade our received traditions for skepticism or relativism? Cultural philosopher Lenn E. Goodman argues that we can respect one another and learn from one another's ways without either sharing them or relinquishing our own. He argues that our commitments to our own ideals and norms need not mean dogmatism or intolerance. In this study, Goodman offers a trenchant critique of John Rawls's pervasive claim that religious and metaphysical voices must be silenced in the core political deliberations of a democracy. Inquiry, dialogue, and open debate remain the safeguards of public and personal sanity, and any of us, Goodman illustrates, can learn from one another's traditions and explorations without abandoning our own.

Introduction
1. Religious pluralism
2. Naked in the public square
3. Minima and maxima
4. The road to Kazanistan
Some concluding thoughts.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Social & political philosophy [HPS]