Why should we care about religious liberty? Leading commentators, United Kingdom courts, and the European Court of Human Rights have de-emphasised the special importance of religious liberty. They frequently contend it falls within a more general concern for personal autonomy. In this liberal egalitarian account, religious liberty claims are often rejected when faced with competing individual interests – the neutral secular state must protect us against the liberty-constraining acts of religions. Joel Harrison challenges this account. He argues that it is rooted in a theologically derived narrative of secularisation: rather than being neutral, it rests on a specific construction of 'secular' and 'religious' spheres. This challenge makes space for an alternative theological, political, and legal vision. Drawing from Christian thought, from St Augustine to John Milbank, Harrison develops a post-liberal focus on association. Religious liberty, he argues, facilitates creating communities seeking solidarity, fraternity, and charity – goals that are central to our common good.
By:
Joel Harrison (University of Sydney) Imprint: Cambridge University Press Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 155mm,
Width: 235mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 570g ISBN:9781108836500 ISBN 10: 110883650X Pages: 278 Publication Date:09 July 2020 Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format:Hardback Publisher's Status: Active
1. Introduction; 2. The liberal egalitarian account; 3. Secularisation challenged; 4. Modern (Christian) responses; 5. The ecclesiological account; 6. Pluralism and disagreement; 7. Conclusion.
Joel Harrison is Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, Sydney Law School.
Reviews for Post-Liberal Religious Liberty: Forming Communities of Charity
'An engaging read …' Edward A. David, Studies in Christian Ethics