Morality and Religion in Liberal Democratic Societies

Morality and Religion in Liberal Democratic Societies PDF Author: Gordon Louis Anderson
Publisher: Paragon House Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
"The struggle for liberal democracy, individual freedom, and human and political rights historically has depended upon the moral codes of Western civilization rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition. However in an increasing pluralistic and secular world, those codes are difficult to maintain. Without a consensus on values and the exercise of individual responsibility, liberal democratic societies and the human and political values they enshrine may become imperilled." "The problem of the relationship between morality and the liberal democratic state is examined in this volume from the perspectives of democratic theory, traditional religion, the modern state, and the evolution of religion in the post-communist world." "In the first section, on democratic theory, professors R.A.D. Grant, David Levy, Michael Perry, and Morton A. Kaplan discuss the theoretical relationship between moral values and the democratic state." "In the second section Gershon Weiler, Batista Jean Mondin, and Dean Kelley discuss the historical struggles of Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism with and within liberal democratic societies. The inconsistencies of many traditional religious perspectives with a culturally pluralistic society are examined." "In the following section, A. James Reichley discusses the pluralist experiment in America; George Weigle sees a new opportunity for the Catholic Church in America; John Carroll discusses the tensions of modern liberalism with culture in general; and Alain Besancon discusses the Catholic church in Europe. Possibilities for the resolution of religious perspectives within pluralistic and liberal democratic societies are examined by scholars who want both to be faithful to their traditions and to integrate them into modern democracies." "In the penultimate section of the book, Roger Scruton analyzes problems of sexual morality and identity and the liberal consensus; Geoffrey Partington discusses how the purge of traditional moral training from the public schools in liberal democracies led to inadequate character development of our youth and the outrage of parents. Morton A. Kaplan shows how the so-called "right to be left alone" is invoked by the courts in a way that is destructive to social health." "In the concluding section, Milowit Kuninski looks at the future of religion in former communist societies in which both official atheism and world consciousness were instilled by state ideology. Gordon Anderson discusses the evolution of religion and the value instruction in schools in the pluralistic societies of the global democratic community that is emerging as the 21st century approaches."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Morality and Religion in Liberal Democratic Societies

Morality and Religion in Liberal Democratic Societies PDF Author: Gordon Louis Anderson
Publisher: Paragon House Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

Get Book Here

Book Description
"The struggle for liberal democracy, individual freedom, and human and political rights historically has depended upon the moral codes of Western civilization rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition. However in an increasing pluralistic and secular world, those codes are difficult to maintain. Without a consensus on values and the exercise of individual responsibility, liberal democratic societies and the human and political values they enshrine may become imperilled." "The problem of the relationship between morality and the liberal democratic state is examined in this volume from the perspectives of democratic theory, traditional religion, the modern state, and the evolution of religion in the post-communist world." "In the first section, on democratic theory, professors R.A.D. Grant, David Levy, Michael Perry, and Morton A. Kaplan discuss the theoretical relationship between moral values and the democratic state." "In the second section Gershon Weiler, Batista Jean Mondin, and Dean Kelley discuss the historical struggles of Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism with and within liberal democratic societies. The inconsistencies of many traditional religious perspectives with a culturally pluralistic society are examined." "In the following section, A. James Reichley discusses the pluralist experiment in America; George Weigle sees a new opportunity for the Catholic Church in America; John Carroll discusses the tensions of modern liberalism with culture in general; and Alain Besancon discusses the Catholic church in Europe. Possibilities for the resolution of religious perspectives within pluralistic and liberal democratic societies are examined by scholars who want both to be faithful to their traditions and to integrate them into modern democracies." "In the penultimate section of the book, Roger Scruton analyzes problems of sexual morality and identity and the liberal consensus; Geoffrey Partington discusses how the purge of traditional moral training from the public schools in liberal democracies led to inadequate character development of our youth and the outrage of parents. Morton A. Kaplan shows how the so-called "right to be left alone" is invoked by the courts in a way that is destructive to social health." "In the concluding section, Milowit Kuninski looks at the future of religion in former communist societies in which both official atheism and world consciousness were instilled by state ideology. Gordon Anderson discusses the evolution of religion and the value instruction in schools in the pluralistic societies of the global democratic community that is emerging as the 21st century approaches."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Political Morality of Liberal Democracy

The Political Morality of Liberal Democracy PDF Author: Michael J. Perry
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521115183
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
This important new work elaborates and defends an account of the political morality of liberal democracy.

Religion in Liberal Political Philosophy

Religion in Liberal Political Philosophy PDF Author: Cécile Laborde
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198794398
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
This volume provides a significant new contribution to the understanding of the normative status of religion in liberal political philosophy.

A Letter Concerning Toleration. By John Locke, Esq

A Letter Concerning Toleration. By John Locke, Esq PDF Author: John Locke
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Toleration
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description


Liberalism’s Religion

Liberalism’s Religion PDF Author: Cécile Laborde
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674976266
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
Cécile Laborde argues that religion is more than a statement of belief or a moral code. It refers to comprehensive ways of life, theories of justice, modes of association, and vulnerable collective identities. By disaggregating these dimensions, she addresses questions about whether Western secularism and religion can be applied more universally.

Love and Power

Love and Power PDF Author: Michael J. Perry
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195359356
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
This study examines the uses of religious ideas in political discourse in a liberal democracy.

Democracy and Morality

Democracy and Morality PDF Author: Patti Tamara Lenard
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 1538188910
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
Democracy is a dominant principle and practice to legitimate political power in the modern world, and yet its relationship with other moral traditions is not well understood. some but not all commitments with it (feminism, Classical and Egalitarian variants of Liberalism). Ethical theories, by their very nature, are universal theories, and tend to be suspicious of democratic legitimacy arguments – since ‘the people’ who are the source of democratic legitimacy might support some things that are contrary to justice, as described in the tradition. Yet, appeal to democracy remains one of the most powerful appeals to legitimize political power in the contemporary world. This volume is interested in the relationship between democracy and moral traditions whose origins either precede the democratic ideal of legitimacy (Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Natural Law) or developed in some sense along side the democratic ideal and share some of its commitments. This volume explores the relationship between these moral traditions and democracy, including the way in which the moral and religious perspectives have adapted in their encounter with democratic ideals, and have themselves modified democratic theory and practice. This is a work in comparative ethics. The contributors each an expert in one of these traditions, show how that traditions has confronted democracy – and considers different dimensions in which the traditions have engaged with the tradition. To orient the engagement between democratic principles and the moral traditions, the contributors focus on various dimensions in which the two have engaged. The contributors consider their tradition’s views of participation, including eligibility for participation and opportunities to do so, including people with quite different world-views; the scope of democracy, as conceived by the tradition, including how the democratic ‘people’ interact or ought to interact with adherents of other traditions, and whether some of the pillars of moral tradition have themselves helped to inform democratic principles and practices in communities where the ethical tradition is dominant. For example, if there are traditions of consultation and of appropriate authority in a moral tradition, does this operate as a resource for democracy itself, and if so, has it changed the way democracy is practiced in these societies? What emerges is a rich and nuanced tapestry that testifies to the interaction of moral traditions and democracy, and the various relationships between these traditions and democratic theory and practice.

Bioethics in a Liberal Society

Bioethics in a Liberal Society PDF Author: Maxwell John Charlesworth
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521449526
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
This book is an original discussion of contemporary issues in bioethics.

Faith, Morality, and Civil Society

Faith, Morality, and Civil Society PDF Author: Peter Augustine Lawler
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 073915494X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
In this rich collection of essays, editors Dale McConkey and Peter Augustine Lawler explore the contributions that religious faith and morality can make to a civil society. Though the level of religious expression has remained high in the United States, the shift from traditional religious beliefs to a far more individualized style of faith has led many to contend that no faith commitment, collective or personal, should contribute to the vibrancy of a civil democratic society. Challenging those who believe that the private realm is the only appropriate locus of religious belief, the contributors to this volume believe that religion can inform and invigorate the secular institutions of society such as education, economics, and politics. Drawn from a wide variety of religious and moral traditions, these diverse essays show, from many perspectives, the important contribution religion has to make in the public square that is civil society.

Membership and Morals

Membership and Morals PDF Author: Nancy L. Rosenblum
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069118769X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 447

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Book Description
In recent years, membership has dropped in traditional voluntary associations such as Rotary Clubs, Jaycees, and bowling leagues. At the same time, concern is rising about the growth of paramilitary and hate groups. Scholars have warned that these trends are undermining civic society by creating a dangerous number of isolated, mistrustful individuals and organized, antisocial renegades. In this provocative book, however, Nancy Rosenblum takes a new, less narrowly political approach to the study of groups. And she reaches more optimistic conclusions about the state of civil society. Rosenblum argues that we should judge associations not only by what they do for civic virtue, but also by what they do for individual members. She shows that groups of all kinds--among them religious groups, corporations, homeowner associations, secret societies, racial and cultural identity groups, prayer groups, and even paramilitary groups--fill deep psychological and moral needs. And she contends that the failure to recognize this has contributed to an alarmist view of their social impact. For example, she argues that, although extremist groups have obvious antisocial aims, they constrain individuals who would be even more dangerous as maladjusted loners. And she examines the rapid growth of small "support groups"--which are usually dismissed as politically irrelevant--and shows that the moral support people find in such places as prayer groups and self-help groups helps to cultivate the social trust some scholars say is disappearing. Rosenblum concludes that, for practical and principled reasons, American democracy should permit expansive freedom of association, illustrating her case with discussion of specific cases in law. Rosenblum recognizes, however, that freedom has a price. She reminds us that some groups have oppressive and even criminal tendencies, and she explores what liberal democracy should do to ensure that individuals also have freedom within associations and freedom to exit. Throughout, Rosenblum writes eloquently and with a powerful moral voice, drawing on law, practical politics, and psychology to produce an original political theory of the moral uses of pluralism. The book adds remarkable depth and subtlety to one of the leading subjects in contemporary social and political debate.