The Last Freedom: Religion from the Public School to the Public SquareThe presidency of George W. Bush has polarized the church-state debate as never before. The Far Right has been emboldened to use religion to govern, while the Far Left has redoubled its efforts to evict religion from public life entirely. Fewer people on the Right seem to respect the church-state separation, and fewer people on the Left seem to respect religion itself--still less its free exercise in any situation that is not absolutely private. In The Last Freedom, Joseph Viteritti argues that there is a basic tension between religion and democracy because religion often rejects compromise as a matter of principle while democracy requires compromise to thrive. In this readable, original, and provocative book, Viteritti argues that Americans must guard against debasing politics with either antireligious bigotry or religious zealotry. Drawing on politics, history, and law, he defines a new approach to the church-state question that protects the religious and the secular alike. |
From inside the book
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... position on abortion, why shouldn't it inject that position into a national debate? Should the posi- tion be barred from public discussion because it is derived from religious dogma? Who are the Boston Globe and the New York Times to ...
... might better be defined as whether a Catholic who agreed with the position of the church on abortion could vote for a candidate who supports it, or more to the original point, how a politician who espoused such 16 CHAPTER TWO.
... positions embraced by the more liberal former governor of New York, took a similar stance when he wrote that as a ... position on capital punishment, as they have on abortion. Moreover, judges have a different role in the governmental ...
... position, while at the same time speaking out on an issue in the public forum. This separation of the governmental role from the political seems like a reasonable compromise; it is also politically expedient. The fact of the matter is ...
... position on purely ethical grounds. It is arguable that so long as the possibility of life exists, we have a moral obligation to protect it. This position is logical, it is reasonable, and it is humanly responsible—apart from any ...
Contents
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15 | |
9780691130118_4CH3pdf | 44 |
9780691130118_5CH4pdf | 66 |
9780691130118_6CH5pdf | 87 |
9780691130118_7CH6pdf | 114 |
9780691130118_8CH7pdf | 145 |
9780691130118_9CH8pdf | 176 |
9780691130118_10CH9pdf | 208 |
9780691130118_11NOTpdf | 241 |
9780691130118_12INDpdf | 263 |
Other editions - View all
The Last Freedom: Religion from the Public School to the Public Square Joseph P. Viteritti No preview available - 2007 |