Brendan Sweetman

Given our critique of the liberal solution to the problem of worldview pluralism, our conclusions about public reason, and our argument that the religious worldview has a limited place in public discourse, it becomes necessary to re-envision the notion of the relationship between church and state. After a brief overview of the conventional view, both morally and legally, the chapter presents the argument that it is no longer possible to put religion into a separate category, given the rise of secularism and the problem of worldview pluralism. So religious arguments cannot be completely excluded from public deliberation. We then consider the question of the limits of what is allowed, and illustrate with some concrete examples. The chapter then turns to consider a worry about the tyranny of the majority and the related notion of populism, which is generating much discussion today, and how these issues relate to our position on approaching the problem of a contentious pluralism democratically. The chapter concludes with ten suggestions for how to engage in public discourse in a democracy.

This chapter explains how secularism has emerged and has become an influential worldview in modern democratic nations. Its presence in society makes the problem of worldview pluralism much worse, and necessitates a rethinking of the relationship between religion and secularism, and democracy and politics. The chapter provides an overview of the Christian worldview and of the secularist worldview, in terms of their main beliefs on central topics, such as human nature, as well as making several significant observations about the nature of secularism. The distinction between biblical Christianity and philosophical Christianity is also introduced as part of the pluralism of worldviews we find today. The last section considers a sophisticated, serious example of the philosophical case for the worldview of secularism in the work of philosopher of science, Philip Kitcher.

This chapter analyzes the gradual shift in the understanding of freedom from the time of John Locke and John Stuart Mill onward. It first considers why it is that the value of freedom, safeguarded in the democratic form of government, gives rise to some serious concerns, and leads to a temptation to restrict the freedom of others. The chapter then considers Locke’s views in his A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), and his struggle concerning how to define some limit to the practice of tolerance in society. This naturally leads to a discussion of Mill’s harm principle, his three spheres of human freedom, and his three arguments for freedom of expression. We argue and illustrate that Mill’s influential views move democratic society and culture toward the absolutizing of freedom, a situation that brings democracy closer to relativism. Relativism exacerbates the problem of worldview pluralism and creates a temptation to suppress views we find objectionable; the chapter concludes by considering five ways that this occurs in modern democratic culture.

This chapter develops the view that democracy is heading toward relativism. It first describes relativism as a cultural phenomenon, and then introduces the philosophical approach of postmodernism in terms of five key theses. We then distinguish between relativism as a philosophical thesis and the rhetoric of relativism, illustrating with the postmodernist approach, and other practical examples, before outlining several serious problems that relativism faces. The chapter then considers the problem of the incommensurability of beliefs, values, and worldviews, clarifying three types of moral disagreement, before concluding with some guidelines for how to approach the difficulties relativism presents for public discourse in modern democratic culture.

This chapter provides a detailed analysis of the secularizing characteristics of contemporary society, and how this phenomenon is best understood today. The chapter distinguishes carefully between terms that are often confused with each other, but whose particular meanings are crucial to our discussion: secularism, secularization, the secular (considered in both its negative and positive senses), and secular liberalism. We illustrate how secular liberalism is a quite robust view in itself, and how the secular state cannot be understood to be a neutral state in terms of values. We then go on to consider the “secularization thesis” in such thinkers as Steve Bruce and Rodney Stark, and explain how this thesis relates to both secularism and secular liberalism. The chapter then discusses helpful notions of passive and active secularism, and illustrates the themes of the chapter by means of a case study of the Republic of Ireland, a country that has undergone a process of radical secularization in a short period of time. We conclude by distinguishing between immature and mature secularism in contemporary democratic societies.

This chapter begins with further reflections on the role of religion in politics, and identifies some of the difficulties facing Robert Audi’s related principle of secular motivation (discussed in Chap. 7). Recognizing that the liberal solution to the problem of pluralism is occasionally looked upon with suspicion, we illustrate the problems with the views of Rawls and Audi further by a detailed case study of Martin Luther King’s Jr.’s religious arguments for civil rights in U.S. society. We then present an overall critical assessment of Rawls’ view, both in the light of and in contrast to our King analysis. The chapter then brings together our views on the role of religion in politics, arguing that all views presented in public political debates need to be reasonable, and providing an overview of what it means to be reasonable. We show, by means of discussion of various examples, that some religious conclusions can be presented according to the principles of public reason. We consider some possible problems as a way of further explaining the position defended in the chapter, and end with some additional reflections on liberalism.

This chapter introduces the problem of a threatening crisis in the liberal democratic form of government, and distinguishes my position from other claims that liberal democracy is in crisis. The chapter explains what we mean by democracy, considers briefly its history, and provides an overview of its main values, as well as considering the distinction between democracy and liberalism. The chapter next considers a list of practical problems facing the democratic system that, while serious and irritating, are not fatal to it, and are not what we mean by crisis in this book. The last section introduces the key arguments and issues of the book, which revolve around the following six themes: (1) Freedom as an Absolute Value; (2) The Phenomenon of Relativism; (3) Loss of Confidence in Reason; (4) Secularism as a Worldview; (5) The Presence of Religious Worldviews in the Democratic State; and (6) The Failure of the Liberal Solution. These phenomena lead to the problem of worldview pluralism.

This chapter turns more directly to the loss of confidence in reason that is a characteristic feature of modern democracies. After introducing the notion of a worldview, and its important features, along with the defining questions that one should ask about one’s worldview, we then present a causal argument/process to explain how democratic culture arrived at a loss of confidence in reason leading to the problem of worldview pluralism. This causal argument identifies the various steps that democratic societies went through over time with regard to the practice of freedom; it shows how democratic nations moved from a position of freedom in theory but not so much in practice, to the emergence of a number of incommensurable worldviews that give rise to a contentious pluralism, and to a loss of confidence in reason. The chapter then considers one way this is manifested in the growing phenomenon of anti-realism about knowledge, reflects on how people respond to this phenomenon, and considers how over time worldviews become ideologies. It concludes with a consideration of worldview pluralism as a cultural phenomenon.

Given the rise of relativism, the loss of confidence in reason leading to a clash of worldviews and the emergence of a contentious pluralism, in addition to the influence of secularism in modern democracies, the question then arises: how is it possible to govern and make progress; how do we navigate through our serious disagreements about morality, politics, and culture? This chapter considers the standard way of thinking about these matters in recent liberal political theory, especially in the work of philosopher, John Rawls. After first discussing the assumptions of modern liberalism (including the theme of religious freedom, and the desire for state neutrality), we present an overview of Rawls’ position and solution to the problem of pluralism. We introduce and explain the notion of public reason—the idea that in public deliberation, one must present arguments that all reasonable people can accept; this excludes religious reasons. We also briefly consider the views of German philosopher, Jurgen Habermas. Turning then specifically to the argument that religious views should be excluded from public debate, the chapter concludes with a critical examination of the ideas of Robert Audi.

This chapter examines more closely the notion of public reason as a possible solution or way of alleviating the problem of a contentious pluralism. Distinguishing first between a worldview being reasonable and being true, and how one might decide if a person (or a worldview) is reasonable, we then examine Rawls’ view of public reason in more detail. We consider his understanding of what a reasonable person is, and discuss whether the notion of public reason is a useful one. The chapter elaborates how public reason is supposed to work by analysis of concrete cases involving gender and abortion, along with a consideration of the nuanced views of Cécile Laborde on public justification. We introduce a distinction between the process of reasoning itself, on the one hand, and the conclusions of reason, on the other hand, to help clear up some confusions in the application of the notion of public reason.

The view is gaining currency that modern democracy is facing a crisis. This article offers a perspective on this theme. The article argues that the crisis is not about which political perspective comes to power, or which policies governments should pursue. Arising from the foundations of the democratic system, the crisis emerges from the supreme prominence given to an absolutist interpretation of freedom, which is a defining feature of the modern democratic state. This leads to a contentious pluralism, marked by the emergence of a plurality of worldviews and a spirit of relativism, that have become characteristic features of many democratic nations. The article identifies at last three causes of this crisis of worldview pluralism: the relationship between freedom and pluralism, a loss of confidence in reason, and the failure of public deliberation. After introducing the notion of a worldview, the article goes on to consider the prominence of both religious and secularist worldviews and rejects several arguments from secular liberalism for excluding religion from public life. We draw out the implications for church and state and look at how democracies must proceed in the light of the crisis and the new realities that are a consequence of pluralism.

The plays in this new volume were written early in Marcel’s career, and were published together under the title Le Seuil invisible (The Invisible Threshold) in 1913. The first play, Grace, explores the theme of religious conversion. The drama depicts a crisis between characters of genuine depth and sincerity, who are struggling with different interpretations of shared experiences. Similar themes are addressed but developed differently in the second play, The Sandcastle. This drama explores the confrontation between one’s beliefs and their consequences when faced with challenging family and social circumstances. The play asks us to think about what happens when our beliefs and theories, especially about religion, morality and politics, come up against situations in life that can test them. Both plays illustrate one of the major themes of both Marcel’s dramatic and philosophical work: that life’s most profound, fulfilling experiences are compromised more than ever in what he describes as the modern, broken world (le monde cassé), one unfortunately characterized by alienation, loss of meaning and feelings of despair.

Part of a series of books devoted to Polish Christian Philosophy in the twentieth century, this latest study introduces the life and work of Piotr Lenartowicz. Lenartowicz, a member of the Jesuit order, held several professional positions, but spent most of his career at the Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow. Approaching philosophy from an Aristotelian- Thomistic perspective, his interests ranged over the philosophy of animate nature, the theory of evolution, topics in the philosophy of science, and epistemological issues, especially concerning the nature of human cognition.

This new collection covers a wide range of cutting-edge and timely questions in contemporary philosophy of religion from a rich variety of backgrounds and perspectives. The essays in the volume deal with a range of fascinating topics in the philosophy of religion such as views of God's nature in process philosophy and theology, process views compared with traditional views (such as that found in St Thomas Aquinas), teleology and purpose in human life and in the universe, religion and evolution, the problem of evil both in human experience and in the natural world, and ethical questions concerning the human road to God, and the question of human rights in pluralist, democratic states. The essays in the first section, "Approaches to God," examine the rationality of the approach to the nature of God defended in process philosophy, particularly in the work of two pioneering thinkers, Charles Hartshorne and A.N. Whitehead. The second section of the book, "Science, Evolution and God," turns to the engagement of Christian views regarding the nature of God and creation with modern developments in science and philosophy. The last section, "Philosophy of Religion and Ethics," takes up broader, more foundational questions. Santiago Sia concludes the volume with a sustained reflection on the nature of philosophy, and philosophizing, a discussion to which he brings many insights and experiences from his own academic career.

This book argues that contemporary liberal democracy is reaching a crisis. Brendan Sweetman contends that this crisis arises from a contentious pluralism involving the rise of incommensurable worldviews that emerge out of the absolutizing of freedom over time in a democratic setting. This clash of worldviews is further complicated by a loss of confidence in reason and by the practical failure of public discourse. A contributory factor is the growing worldview of secularism which needs to be distinguished from both the process of secularization and the concept of the secular state. After describing the crisis, and exploring these themes, and also rejecting proposed solutions from recent liberal political theory, Sweetman develops an approach to pluralist disagreement which requires a re-envisioning of the relationship between religion, secularism and politics, and which allows a limited place for all worldviews in the state, including religious worldviews. Engaging with the work of Philip Kitcher, Robert Audi, John Rawls, A.C. Grayling, Martin Luther King, Cécile Laborde, John Stuart Mill, John Locke, and Plato, Sweetman's approach is a formidable innovation in the quest to maintain a free and fair society.

Act Three of Gabriel Marcel’s play, The Emissary, is presented here in English for the first time. The introductory essay introduces Marcel and several of his best known themes, especially the distinctions between problem and mystery, and primary and secondary reflection. Focusing on the relationship between experience and conceptual knowledge, it discusses Marcel’s attempt to argue philosophically for a return to ordinary experience. The role of drama and art in the recovery of the realm of mystery is also highlighted. The play illustrates these themes at the concrete level as it raises many of the challenging situations and moral dilemmas that emerged from the occupation of France by a brutal enemy during World War II. The realities of deceit, betrayal and blackmail are all in the air, as are real worries about reprisals, violence, and irreparable loss. In a moving, gripping drama, Marcel portrays the occupation as an occasion for deep soul-searching among the characters, in the midst of great suffering and loss, and, rather than passing easy judgment, he suggests a journey toward healing, one inspired by compassion, honesty, courage, and faith.

Advances in technology have not only given rise to many important questions in bioethics but have also made the whole subject something of an ethical minefield. Bioethics now involves practices that give rise to ethical dilemmas in such diverse fields as medicine, biology, and even physics and chemistry. The success and future potential of scientific research in bioethics has contributed to the growing perception that science has a kind of hegemony over modern life, and this brings with it a temptation to make scientists the gurus of modern culture, to look to them for answers to all human problems.