Religious Commitment and Secular Reason

Many religious people are alarmed about features of the current age - violence in the media, a pervasive hedonism, a marginalization of religion, and widespread abortion. These concerns influence politics, but just as there should be a separation between church and state, so should there be a balance between religious commitments and secular arguments calling for social reforms. Robert Audi offers a principle of secular rationale, which does not exclude religious grounds for action but which rules out restricting freedom except on grounds that any rational citizen would accept. The book describes the essential commitments of free democracy, explains how religious and secular moral considerations can be integrated to facilitate co-operation in a world of religious pluralism, and proposes ideals of civic virtue that express the mutual respect on which democracy depends. Audi offers a balanced and sophisticated treatment of the relations between religion and politics in a modern, secular society. Part One : The Foundations Of Democracy And The Separation Of Church And State -- 1. The Plurality Of Paths To Liberal Democracy -- Liberal Democracy -- Outlines Of A Case For Liberal Democracy -- Freedom And Coercion -- 2. The Separation Of Church And State -- Three Central Principles Of Church-state Separation -- Church-state Separation Viewed From A Religious Standpoint -- Applications Of Church-state Separation: Public Observances, Educational Policy, And Tax Exemption -- 3. Church-state Separation And The Justification Of Governmental Power -- Liberal Democracy And Conceptions Of The Good -- Surrogacy Conception Of Justified Coercion -- The Positive Role Of Religious Arguments In A Liberal Democracy -- -- Part Two : The Ethics Of Citizenship And The Balance Of Religious And Political Arguments -- 4. Religious Convictions And Secular Reasons -- Religion, Politics, And The Ethics Of Citizenship -- Two Principles Of Democratic Citizenship -- Some Problems Of Application --^ The Ethics Of Citizenship And The Accommodation Of Religion -- 5. Religion And Ethics: Toward Integration -- The Diverse Sources Of Religious Obligation -- Religious Commitment And Political Participation -- The Principle Of Theo-ethical Equilibrium -- Theology And The Autonomy Of Ethics -- -- Part Three : Civic Virtue And Political Activism In A Religiously Pluralistic Democracy -- Civic Virtue -- Virtues As Normatively Structured Elements Of Character -- The Grounds Of Civic Virtue -- Civic Virtue And The Grounds For Sociopolitical Action -- Civic Virtue And The Balancing Of Religious And Secular Reasons -- The Place Of Religious Considerations In Civic Discourse -- Institutional Dimensions Of Civic Virtue -- 7. Religious Conviction And Political Acrivism -- Prevention Of Killing The Innocent As A Rationale For Violence -- Some Arguments For Personhood At Conception -- The Restriction Of Abortion And The Presumption Of Innocence --^ Violence And Coercion Versus Civilized Disagreement And Persuasion -- Conclusion : Ethics, Religion, And Democracy. Robert Audi. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 217-251) And Index. Many religious people are alarmed about features of the current age -- violence in the media, a pervasive hedonism, a marginalization of religion, and widespread abortion. These concerns influence politics, but just as there should be a separation between church and state, so should there be a balance between religious commitments and secular arguments calling for social reforms. Robert Audi offers a principle of secular rationale, which does not exclude religious grounds for action but which rules out restricting freedom except on grounds that any rational citizen would accept. This book describes the essential commitments of free democracy, explains how religious and secular moral considerations can be integrated to facilitate cooperation in a world of religious pluralism, and proposes ideals of civic virtue that express the mutual respect on which democracy depends.