The Clash of Orthodoxies: Law, Religion, and Morality in Crisis. (ISBN: 9781882926626)

In The Clash of Orthodoxies: Law, Religion, and Morality in Crisis, Robert George tackles the issues at the heart of the contemporary conflict of worldviews. Challenging liberalism's claim to represent the triumph of reason, George argues that on controversial issues like abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, same-sex unions, civil rights and liberties, and the place of religion in public life, traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs are rationally superior to their secular liberal alternatives It is a common supposition among many of our cultural elites that a constitutional "wall of separation” between church and state precludes religious believers from bringing their beliefs to bear on public matters. This is because secular liberals typically assume that their own positions on morally charged issues of public policy are the fruit of pure reason, while those of their morally conservative opponents reflect an irrational religious faith. In The Clash of Orthodoxies: Law, Religion, and Morality in Crisis, Princeton political theorist Robert P. George shows that this supposition is wrong on both counts.
Challenging liberalism's claim to represent the triumph of reason, George argues that on controversial issues like embryonic stem-cell research, abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, and same-sex marriage, traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs are actually rationally superior to secular liberal alternatives. Drawing on the natural law philosophical tradition, George demolishes various secularist pretenses, such as the notion that the very young and very old among us are somehow subpersonal and not worthy of full legal protection. He reveals the dubious person-body dualism implicit in secularist arguments, and he demonstrates the flawed reasoning behind the idea that the state ought to be neutral regarding competing understandings of the nature and value of marriage. George also revisits the controversy surrounding his participation in the First Things "End of Democracy?” symposium, in which he considered the relevance of Catholic teachings regarding the legitimacy of political regimes to the contemporary American situation. George argues that because natural law and natural rights doctrine lie at the foundation of the American republic, the judicial reading of the Constitution that has undermined democracy in order to enshrine the secularist agenda is deeply flawed.
In advancing his thesis, George argues for a return to old-fashioned liberalism, a worldview that he claims is best exemplified by Pope John Paul II, whose teachings laud
democracy, religious liberty, and economic freedom while also recognizing the demands of civil rights, social and economic justice, and the principle of subsidiarity. These demands restrain Catholics—and indeed all people of faith—from making personal freedom an absolute, and George takes to task those political leaders who, though believers, have denied or ignored the political responsibility this entails.
The Clash of Orthodoxies is a profoundly important contribution to our contemporary national conversation about the proper role of religion in politics. The lucid and persuasive prose of Robert George, one of America's most prominent public intellectuals, will shock secular liberals out of an unwarranted complacency and provide
powerful ammunition for embattled defenders of traditional morality.
Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He is a former Presidential Appointee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and he served as a Judicial Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States, where he received the 1990 Justice Tom C. Clark Award. A graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School, Professor George earned his doctorate in legal philosophy from Oxford University. His earlier books include Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality (Oxford University Press, 1993) and In Defense of Natural Law (Clarendon Press, 1999).
John DiIulio is Special Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives.
In The Clash of Law, Religion, and Morality in Crisis , Robert George tackles the issues at the heart of the contemporary conflict of worldviews. Secular liberals typically suppose that their positions on morally charged issues of public policy are the fruit of pure reason, while those of their morally conservative opponents reflect an irrational religious faith. George shows that this supposition is wrong on both counts. Challenging liberalism's claim to represent the triumph of reason, George argues that on controversial issues like abortion, euthanasia, same-sex unions, civil rights and liberties, and the place of religion in public life, traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs are rationally superior to secular liberal alternatives. The Clash of Orthodoxies is a profoundly important contribution to our contemporary national conversation about the proper role of religion in politics. The lucid and persuasive prose of Robert George, one of America's most prominent public intellectuals, will shock liberals out of an unwarranted complacency and provide powerful ammunition for embattled defenders of traditional morality. "Discussions of educational reform often involve windy talk of a "return to the classics," yet rarely do would-be reformers go so far as to advocate a return to education in the classical languages themselves. That is a program that strikes even the most stalwart critics of contemporary educational mediocrity as quixotic, and perhaps even undesirable.". "Tracy Lee Simmons readily concedes that there is little reason to hope for a widespread renascence in the teaching of Greek and Latin to our nation's schoolchildren. But he argues that, whatever its immediate prospects, an education in the classical languages is of inestimable personal and cultural value.". "In Climbing Parnassus Simmons presents the reader not so much with a program for educational renewal as with a defense and vindication of the formative power of Greek and Latin. His persuasive witness to the unique, now all-but-forgotten advantages of study in and of the classical languages constitutes a bracing reminder of the genuine aims of a truly liberal education."--BOOK JACKET. The clash of orthodoxies (including an exchange with Josh Dever) -- Liberal political theory and the culture of death -- God's reasons -- "Same-sex marriage" and "moral neutrality" -- The concept of public morality -- Making children moral: pornography, parents, and the public interest -- The tyrant state -- Justice, legitimacy, and allegiance: "The end of democracy" symposium revisited -- Natural law and civil rights: from Jefferson's "Letter to Henry Lee" to Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" -- Natural law, the Constitution, and the theory and practice of judicial review (including and exchange with James Fleming) -- What is law? A century of arguments -- Religious values and politics -- Nature, morality, and homosexuality -- Bioethics and public policy: Catholic participation in the American debate -- On fides et ratio -- Afterword: We should not kill human embryos, for any reason George tackles the issues at the heart of the contemporary conflict of worldviews and shows that traditional beliefs may still be the best course of action.