This book argues that the principles and institutions of political liberalism are necessary conditions for achieving reliable stability amid conditions of pluralism. Only a political system of this sort can bring citizens’ moral, religious, and political loyalties into robust agreement.
Through an analysis that encompasses normative political theory and American constitutional law, David Golemboski illustrates the implications of this conclusion by examining contemporary legal debates in law and religion. By developing a fresh perspective on how legal frameworks for religious exercise and establishment can ameliorate conflict and enhance the stability of a liberal constitution, this book demonstrates that political systems need not subordinate or sacrifice important liberal priorities in favor of stability. Rather, those liberal priorities are themselves necessary components of a stable order.
Religious Pluralism and Political Stability will be of interest to scholars across the fields of political philosophy, legal theory, and constitutional law who have an interest in religion.
Author(s): David Golemboski
Series: Routledge Innovations in Political Theory
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 224
City: New York
Cover
Endorsement
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Taking Stability Seriously
Plan of the Book
References
Part I Stability and the Foundations of Political Liberalism
1 Justificatory Stability
Inherent Stability
Brute Force and the Problem of Transcendent Interests
The Case for a Modus Vivendi
The Inadequacy of a Modus Vivendi
Justification: The Right Reason for Stability
Pluralism and the Feasibility of Justificatory Stability
References
2 Hobbesian Political Liberalism
Causes of Conflict: Equality and Disagreement
The Priority of Non-Material Interests
The Persistence of Disagreement and the Illiberal Solution
Beyond a Modus Vivendi
Conditions for Stability
A Presumption in Favor of Liberty
Distributive Equality
Justificatory Neutrality
The Rule of Law
Democracy?
Hobbesian Political Liberalism
References
3 Motivating Liberal Loyalty
The Liberal Problem of Ineffective Endorsement
A Harmonization of Loyalties
Loyalty Without Nationalism?
Toward a Shared Constitutional Culture
Political and Religious Conditions of Harmonization
Moral Communities as a Source of Stability
References
Part II Justificatory Stability and the Law of Religion
4 Conflicts of Loyalty in Religion and Law
Pluralism and the Practical Inevitability of Conflicting Loyalties
Overlapping Jurisdictions and Incidental Burdens
“Bending” Conflicts Away
Creative Compromise
References
5 Religious Exemptions as a Mechanism for Political Stability
Exemptions as Relief for Conflicts of Loyalties
The Ambivalence of Exemptions: Balancing for Stability
Size of Exempted Class
Burdens On Third Parties
Insincerity and Secular Benefits
“Weaponization” of Conscience for Political Agendas
Adjudicating Exemptions
Is Religion Special?
Conscience
Association
Relational Loyalty
References
6 Endorsement, Entanglement, and Religious Neutrality
Coerced Observance
Endorsement of Religion
Privileged Identification
Entanglement
Establishment Federalism
Is Religion Special? Redux
References
7 Conclusion
Obligations, Religious and Political
References
Index of Cases
Index
